THE " REPUBLICAN POLICEMAN" ACCORDING TO THE OTHER IN ABOMEYCALAVI (BENIN)

Abstract

In Benin, the "Republican Police" is defined as a single internal security force, resulting from the merger of the former national police and the former national gendarmerie of Benin in accordance with law N ° 2017-41 of December 29, 2017. Article 2 of Decree No. 2018-314 of July 11, 2018 stipulates that the Republican Police is a paramilitary force established to ensure public security, the maintenance of order and the execution of laws. It has jurisdiction over the entire territory, including paramilitary and military personnel as well as military barracks, air bases and naval force buildings. The police officer is therefore invested with missions that can put him in “situation” with all the components of society, including his own colleagues. This state of affairs generates a host of opinions related to the police in the execution of their sovereign missions. This research aims to analyze the perceptions of the Republican policeman in the town of Abomey-Calavi. To achieve this, recourse is made to a methodological approach based on documentary research, field investigation and observation. The interviews carried out with 32 respondents composed of citizens, municipal elected officials, road users, prisoners, market women, but also agents of public security and defense forces were approached. It emerges from the analysis of the data carried out under the prism of the symbolic interactionism of H. Blumer, that the Republican police officer is much more concerned with something other than the security and the free movement of people and their goods. Some people surveyed think that the police officer is often misunderstood and is the object of contempt. For still others, the police officer must be more professional to avoid prejudices that are detrimental to the institution.