It is often said that there is never a good time to encounter a police officer. Either you are in trouble or the victim of a crime. But it would help if the officer is professional, fair and not corrupt.
Afrobarometer, an independent research lab, surveyed 39 of the 54 African countries and recently published a report which monitors how the public feels about their local police departments. The report is entitled “Law enforcers or law breakers?: Beyond corruption, Africans cite brutality and lack of professionalism among police failings.” It found a diversity of sentiments and perceptions of the police forces in each country.
Morocco did very well in how local citizens perceive the quality and service of the police. For example, nearly 58% of those surveyed in Morocco found that during their encounters with police officers they determined that their behavior was professional. The majority of Moroccans trust the police and believe their government is doing its best to reduce crime.
About Morocco, the Afrobarometer report notes the following:
Among the surveyed nations, Urban police presence was highest in Morocco at 94%
Only 32 percent of Moroccans surveyed said they had an encounter with police in the past 12 months. This contrasts countries like Cameroon,Liberia and Nigeria in which over 60 percent noted direct contact with police at checkpoints or traffic stops.
Eleven percent of Moroccans surveyed had a need to call and ask for police intervention.
More than half (57 percent) of Moroccans believe their police act professionally and respect citizens’ rights.
Forty-four percent of Moroccans are confident their police only stop for a good reason. While in Gabon and Kenya, over 60 percent believe the police make stops without a valid reason.
Are cops corrupt?
According to the Afrobarometer report, Moroccans perceive police as honest and 61 percent would think it is rare that any police officer would engage in criminal activity. Sadly, only 36 percent of Africans can say the police rarely or never commit crimes.
In Morocco, 41 percent paid a bribe to obtain police assistance while 53 percent paid a bribe to get out of trouble. This contrasts with Liberia and Nigeria where bribes are transacted up to 78 percent of the time during police encounters. Cabo Verde has the lowest bribery rate at less than 2 percent.
The use of excessive force is also addressed in the report. Nearly four out of ten Moroccans say that police brutality is used often; especially against suspected criminals. The worst countries for police brutality are Tunisia, Gabon, Senegal, Eswantini, Liberia and Congo-Brazzaville, according to the survey.
Morocco also scores high on the question of feeling safe. Morocco is in the top five of countries whose respondents said they “never felt unsafe and never feared crime.”
Afrobarometer works with partners in each country who can communicate in the national and local languages to gather survey information. Their methodology is based on a sample size which represents the nation’s population and is accurate with a margin of error of +/-2 to 3 percent.
