{{Short description|Gambian national law enforcement agency}} {{Infobox law enforcement agency | agencyname = The Gambia Police Force | abbreviation = GPF | patch = | patchcaption = | logo = | logocaption = | imagesize = | motto = | mottotranslated = | formedyear = 1965 | preceding1 = Gambia Constabulary | preceding2 = Gambia Regiment | budget = | legalpersonality = | country = The Gambia | national = Yes | map = | mapcaption = | dmap = | sizearea = {{convert|10,689|sqkm}} | sizepopulation = 1,882,450 | legaljuris = The Gambia | governingbody = Minister of the Interior | governingbodyscnd = | constitution1 = | police = Yes | secret = | overviewtype = | overviewbody = | headquarters = GPF Headquarters, Ecowas Drive | sworn = 5,000 | minister1name = Ebrima Mballow | minister1pfo = Minister of the Interior | chief1name = Abdoulie Sanyang | chief1position = Inspector General of Police | parentagency = | child1agency = }}
'''The Gambia Police Force''' is the primary independent domestic intelligence, security, and law enforcement agency in The Gambia. Under the Ministry of the Interior, the force is headed by an Inspector General of Police. The current size of the force is 5,000 uniformed and plain-clothed officers. The Gambia Police Force addresses corruption through a specialized unit focused on fraud and commercial crimes.
== History ==
left|thumb|211x211px|Colonial Gambian police cap badge.
The first police force in The Gambia was the Gambia River Police, formed in 1855. Before this, security in the small colonial enclaves was provided by British troops and a small local militia, drawn from traders, freed slaves, and other settlers. The River Police's role was to control smuggling, enforce taxation, and prevent insurgencies. The local militia aided 10 men and was further reinforced in 1866 by the establishment of the paramilitary Gambia Constabulary. Initially formed with 40 constables, this was increased to 100 in 1870. At this point, all imperial troops were withdrawn from the colony, and policing was left to the Constabulary and local militia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Policing in Africa|last1=Davidheiser|first1=Mark|last2=Hultin|first2=Niklas|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012|editor-last=Francis|editor-first=David|location=New York|pages=125–127}}</ref>
A Frontier Police force was founded in 1895. The establishment of the West African Frontier Force in 1900 led to the creation of the Gambia Company in 1901, which also contributed to maintaining the colony's security. In the Protectorate, security was the responsibility of the district chief. In 1909, the British issued an ordinance granting the chiefs the power to appoint 'badge messengers', who were authorised to maintain law and order and had the same authority as the colony's police. Francis has noted how "Although Gambians staffed the lower level of the force, to the local population, the police and security services, limited as they were, represented an essentially foreign presence."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
At independence in 1965, the Constabulary and Frontier Police merged to create The Gambia Police Force. Following the disbandment of the Gambia Regiment in 1958, the police assumed all defence responsibilities. A 200-man paramilitary force, the Gambia Field Force, which was part of the police after 1958, maintained responsibility for internal security.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=World Police and Paramilitary Forces|last=Andrade|first=John|publisher=Macmillan|year=1985|location=Basingstoke|pages=75}}</ref>
[[File:Serekunda Police Station, Gambia (17433726212).jpg|thumb|300x300px|Serekunda Police Station.]]
== Operations ==
The GPF has a Sea Police Patrol Unit as well as a small Air Force, which is not yet operational.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.accessgambia.com/information/police.html|title=Gambia Police Force|website=Access Gambia|access-date=15 November 2017}}</ref>
== Training ==
The GPF operates the Gambia Police Force Peacekeeping Center (GPFPC), which collaborates with the Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI) to train peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peaceopstraining.org/programs/ntcelp/africa/gpfpc/|title=Gambia Police Force Peacekeeping Center|website=Peace Operations Training Institute|access-date=15 November 2017}}</ref>
== International cooperation ==
The Gambia Police Force has been a member of Interpol since 6 October 1986. The Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) for The Gambia is located in the GPF headquarters in Banjul. It is headed by a Commissioner, who is assisted by an Assistant Superintendent of Police. Responsibilities of the NCB in The Gambia include human trafficking, terrorism, financial crime, fugitives, stolen works of art, and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Africa/Gambia|title=The Gambia Police Force (GPF)|website=Interpol|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-date=7 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907074038/https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Africa/Gambia|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== List of Inspectors General ==
{| class="wikitable" !Name !Previous role !Entered office !Left office |- |Ensa Badjie |The Inspector General of Police |2008 |2 March 2010 |- |Yankuba Sonko |The Inspector General of Police |2 March 2010 |27 November 2014 |- |Benjamin Wilson |The Inspector General of Police |27 November 2014 |13 July 2015 |- |Yankuba Sonko |The Inspector General of Police |13 July 2015 |22 June 2017 |- |Landing Kinteh |The Inspector General of Police |22 June 2017 |21 June 2018 |- |Momour Jobe |The Inspector General of Police |9 July 2018 |13 March 2021''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cham|first=Pa Modou|date=15 March 2021|title=Police chief Mamour Jobe laid to rest|url=https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/police-chief-mamour-jobe-laid-to-rest|access-date=2021-12-07|website=thepoint.gm|language=en-US}}</ref>'' |- |Abdoulie Sanyang |The Inspector General of Police |8 April 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=New IGP appointed - The Point|url=https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/new-igp-appointed|access-date=2021-12-07|website=thepoint.gm|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Seedy SM Touray |The Inspector General of Police |15 March 2024 |Current | |- |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.uniforminsignia.org/index.php/component/insigniasearch/?result=2721 Rank insignia of the Gambia Police Force] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114222956/http://www.uniforminsignia.org/index.php/component/insigniasearch/?result=2721 |date=2023-01-14 }}
Category:Military of the Gambia Category:Law enforcement in the Gambia