By Omar Bah
A new nationwide survey by the Centre for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass) has revealed that a majority of Gambians do not trust the Gambia Police Force, pointing to bribery, selective enforcement, and abuse of process as the main drivers of public distrust.
According to the CepRass findings published yesterday, 52% per cent of respondents in their survey expressed little or no trust for the police.
“At the national level, only 21% of respondents say they trust the police a lot, while 24% say they trust them somewhat. At the same time, 31% say they trust the police only a little, and 21% say they do not trust them at all, while 3% do not know.”
When combined, CepRass added, those expressing strong or moderate trust account for 45%, whereas those expressing little or no trust account for 52%.
“This indicates that trust in the police is shallow and uneven, with more respondents leaning toward limited trust than toward firm confidence,” CepRass added.
This, according to CepRass, means police legitimacy remains fragile and a key institutional challenge.
The poll, conducted across all administrative regions of the country, asked Gambians about their direct experiences with law enforcement and their perception of police conduct.
While CepRass did not release a single composite trust score in its summary briefing, it stated unequivocally that “distrust is the dominant sentiment” and that trust levels are “dangerously low” across age groups, regions, and employment status.
The survey makes clear that this is not a perception problem. It is a contact problem. Respondents who had interacted with police in the past 12 months reported higher levels of distrust than those who had not. The more contact citizens have with the police, the less they trust the institution.
CepRass reported that negative views of the police were recorded in both urban and rural areas.
According to CepRass, regional variation is quite pronounced.
It says Basse records the strongest confidence in the police, with 24% saying “a lot” and 46% saying “somewhat,” for a combined trust of 70% while Mansakonko stands relatively high, with 28% saying “a lot” and 40% saying “somewhat,” for a total of 68%.
“Kuntaur records 56% combined trust, while Janjangbureh records 47%. By contrast, Brikama is much more sceptical, where only 42% express strong or moderate trust, while 56% express little or no trust.
Kanifing is similarly critical, with 42% combined trust and 56% little or no trust. Kerewan also shows a more negative profile, with only 35% expressing strong or moderate trust, compared with 53% reporting little or no trust,” it reported.
Banjul, the poll added, is distinctive in that only 37% report strong or moderate trust, 54% report little or no trust, and 10% do not know.
“These results point to stronger police legitimacy in some rural regions and greater scepticism in urban and peri-urban areas.”
