CAR opens first integrated crime database — The Rio Times

The Central African Republic has opened its first integrated database on crimes and wanted persons. The center was located at the Ministry of the Interior in the capital, Bangui, and was inaugurated by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra on October 8, The Rio Times reports.

A joint system for the police and gendarmerie

The new system is intended to combine information used by the police and gendarmerie. According to the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA, the database should improve information-sharing, help identify crime trends and coordinate responses to criminal threats, including cross-border ones.

During the ceremony, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MINUSCA, Valentine Rugwabiza, said that the police and gendarmerie would receive a common tool for working with data on offenses and wanted persons. Before the center was launched, these bodies had no single shared database for recording offenses and suspects.

UN participation in the project

MINUSCA financed the construction of the center, equipment and servers. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provided technical expertise, training and assistance with network connectivity. The government of the Central African Republic allocated land and carried out additional work.

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The Minister of the Interior and Public Security, General Bienvenu Zokoué, called the handover of the center evidence of a shared commitment to modernize security management and strengthen internal security forces. UNODC representative in the country Kameldi Neldjingaé stressed that the system’s effectiveness would depend on its use by national institutions in accordance with the law.

Further rollout

According to MINUSCA, the next steps should include extending the system to the judicial police and the gendarmerie’s investigative service, backing up data and gradually rolling out the database in the country’s regions. Rugwabiza urged the authorities to provide the center with qualified staff on a permanent basis, funding for operations and maintenance, as well as a reliable internet connection.

UN representatives also stressed the need to protect personal data, ensure confidentiality and respect people’s rights when working with information in the system.