The Gambia Police Force
Gambian national law enforcement agency
The Gambia Police Force is the primary independent domestic intelligence, security, and law enforcement agency in The Gambia. Under the Ministry of the Interior, the force is headed by an Inspector General of Police. The current size of the force is 5,000 uniformed and plain-clothed officers. The Gambia Police Force addresses corruption through a specialized unit focused on fraud and commercial crimes.
History
The first police force in The Gambia was the Gambia River Police, formed in 1855. Before this, security in the small colonial enclaves was provided by British troops and a small local militia, drawn from traders, freed slaves, and other settlers. The River Police's role was to control smuggling, enforce taxation, and prevent insurgencies. The local militia aided 10 men and was further reinforced in 1866 by the establishment of the paramilitary Gambia Constabulary. Initially formed with 40 constables, this was increased to 100 in 1870. At this point, all imperial troops were withdrawn from the colony, and policing was left to the Constabulary and local militia.
The public source identifies “The Gambia Police Force” as gambian national law enforcement agency. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gambia, Police and Force.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q48797824. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1866 and 1870.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Gambia Police Force” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.