ANTAQNARIVO: ANNUAL CRIME EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE (ACEQ)Q

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000099

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/AF - ANTON KORT
DEPT FOR DS/DSS/ITA - DANNY ROTHSTEIN
DEPT FOR AF/E

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC KRCM MA
SUBJECT: ANTAQNARIVO: ANNUAL CRIME EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE (ACEQ)Q



1. (U) CRIME MOBILITY:


B. Criminal elements generally concentrate their activities in high
crime areas, but sometimes enter nearby neighborhoods, including
those containing Mission housing.

COMMENT: Criminal elements in the capital usually focus on densely
populated areas and commercial zones but sometimes branch out into
the neighborhood where most Mission residences are located.


2. (U) CRIME AMBIENCE:


B. Mission neighborhoods are surrounded by low crime buffer zones,
which are perceived as safe during the day, but are unsafe at night
because of petty street crime.

COMMENT: While our neighborhoods do not have buffer zones per se, it
is generally safe to walk around the Mission housing area day and
night. However, the perception by thieves is that foreigners have
money; therefore crimes are committed in our neighborhoods and
surrounding areas day and night. RSO does not advise walking at
night outside of the Mission housing area.


3. (U) AGGRESSIVENESS OF CRIMINALS:


C. Criminal perpetrators usually commit street crimes and
burglaries, and are not deterred by risk of confrontation with
occupants during burglaries.

COMMENT: Traditionally, Malagasy are passive people. In previous
ACEQs's post had reported a sharp increase in crime. However, during
this reporting period, crime has decreased significantly despite the
struggling economy. Criminal gangs do exist and are comprised of
former felons, ex-military and police from the former regime. In the
past these gangs have been responsible for committing home invasions
and kidnappings in Madagascar. Often the criminals know the
occupants of the residence and have no problem confronting them.


4. (U) ARMING OF CRIMINALS:


B. Criminal perpetrators usually are armed with knives/lethal
cutting weapons.

COMMENT: Most criminals in Madagascar carry some sort of weapon when
committing an offense. That can be partly attributed to the fact
that most Malagasy men carry knives or other edged weapons for
self-defense and/or for work. In the past criminals armed themselves
with pistols and in some cases with automatic weapons such as
AK-47'S. These weapons are believed to be from stocks issued to
former police and military members of the former GOM regime.
Further, there have been several arrests of individuals making home
made handguns.


5. (U) AGGREGATION OF CRIMINALS:


C. Criminal perpetrators usually operate in groups of
two to four individuals (or larger) and occasionally can be
confrontational and violent.


6. (SBU) DETERRENCE/RESPONSE OF POLICE:


C. In the past Local police were ineffective at deterring crime.
However, there has been a significant improvement as law enforcement
officials have increased the number of police patrols throughout the
city. One area that continues to hinder police is the response time
to alarms or emergency calls with in a reasonable amount of time. It
usually takes 30 minutes or longer for police to respond. Police
have a mediocre record in apprehending suspects after the fact.
Moreover there is a tendency to shoot and kill suspects rather than
physically apprehending them.

COMMENT: Embassy Antananarivo is very active in its efforts to
detect and deter crime in the American Diplomatic Community. Local
police have a history of being non-effective in deterring crime.
Moreover their response time is usually 30 minutes or more. Often
they depend on the Embassy to provide transportation to a particular
crime event or conducting an investigation. The Embassy's 24/7 local
guard force (LGF) program, combined with the LGF contractor's roving
patrol that has the capability of responding within minutes, is our
best deterrent against violent, invasive crime in our housing area.


7. (SBU) TRAINING/PROFESSIONALISM OF POLICE


C. Police are mediocre in professionalism and training; they are
somewhat apathetic toward Post residential security requirements,
including response to alarms and investigation of incidents in
Mission neighborhoods; they have definite resource/manpower
limitations that inhibit their deterrence or response
effectiveness.

COMMENT: There are two national police forces in Madagascar. The
National Police has criminal jurisdiction for all cities in
Madagascar, and has the responsibility to protect Mission
residential areas from criminal activity. The Gendarmerie is
considered to be more professional and responsive than the National
Police, having assisted Post in the past with regard to criminal
incidents against Peace Corps Volunteers. Police/Gendarmerie lack
professional training in many areas of policing. However, since
joining the International Law Enforcement Academy (Gaborone,
Botswana) the level of expertise and professionalism is improving.
Further, tQ police lack resources that would enable them to be more
responsive (vQicles, communication systems).

MCGEE