Crime in Liberia is investigated by the Liberian police.
Crime by type
editMurder
editAccording to the country's official criminal justice statistics, Liberia had a murder rate of 3.23 per 100,000 population in 2012.[1] Because of a lack of reliable, long-term official data, the WHO used a regression model to compute an estimated homicide rate for 2012 of 11.2 per 100,000, with a 95% confidence interval between 2.6 and 48.8.[2]
Corruption
edit
In Liberia's education system, patronage and bribery by administrators, professors, and students are widely reported. Abuse of resources, teacher absenteeism, and sex for grades are common. A culture of silence prevents reporting of problems and hence any constructive reform.[3][4]
In 2013, Human Rights Watch released a report specifically about police corruption in Liberia. They interviewed more than 120 people who had said they had been victimized in their dealings with the police. They said that "police officers typically ask crime victims to pay to register their cases, for transport to the crime scene, and for pens and other items used in the investigation. Criminal suspects routinely pay bribes for release from police detention."[5]
Street vendors said they were often the victim of police raids, especially in Monrovia. Vendors said that police routinely steal goods, arrest vendors, and then require them to pay for their release from detention. Motorcycle and taxi drivers throughout the country described harassment and extortion along roads. Those who refuse to meet officers’ demands face violence and arrest. Elite armed units, such as the Police Support Unit, were frequently cited for violent abuses.[5]
Human trafficking
editLiberia is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Most victims are trafficked within Liberia, primarily from rural areas to urban areas for domestic servitude, forced street vending, and sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked to alluvial diamond mining areas for forced labor.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Intentional homicide victims | Statistics and Data". dataunodc.un.org. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ "Global status report on violence prevention 2014". WHO, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. pp. 66, 234. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
- ^ "Emerging Voices: Glencorse on Higher Education in Liberia". Council on Foreign Relations. 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ Ken Banks (3 December 2013). "Breaking the Silence: SMS Helps Liberian Schools to Improve Education". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress". Human Rights Watch. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Liberia". Trafficking in Persons Report 2008. U.S. Department of State (June 4, 2008). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.