A Model for Developing Performance Indicators in Niger

Abstract

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, which at the same time faces serious security challenges due, among other things, to its location and lack of proper infrastructure. Niger is a republic in West Africa; mostly desert (the Sahara) and bordering countries such as Burkina Faso, Algeria, Libya, Chad and Nigeria. In 2008 Niger was classified as the 174th least developed country out of 179. The official language is French. Niger has begun a process of police reform that includes institutional changes and police education (Reform Programme 2008–2012). The Danish Institute for Human Rights has worked with the police since 2002 on integrating human rights in police education. In spite of current political willingness to introduce reforms, these face challenges very different from the ones found in more privileged countries. There is a lack of reliable data collection, statistics and means of verification in general; gathering information from the desert area is a major challenge and statistics are not really part of the culture of public institutions in Niger, including the police. Experiences from democratic policing, police reform and performance measurement often come from Anglophone countries with the consequence that most information and documentation only exist in English. The case study discusses the current state of police reform, measurement of police performance and how the process of reform could be advanced by the introduction of policing indicators in a six-step model in Niger.