Plural Policing in the Ivory Coast: Negotiating Security, Order, and Legitimacy

Baker’s idea of policing, as broadly defined, involves organized activities by state and non-state groups for ensuring the maintenance of order, security, and peace through prevention, deterrence, investigation, and punishment. The purpose of this article is to explore plural policing in the Ivory Coast and to understand how the various actors/providers negotiate to provide security and peace and maintain order in the country. Importantly, an effort was made to understand how Ivorians view the key players in the security sector—public police and private police—and to assess their levels of trust and confidence in these agencies. Using a sample of 197 university students, our analysis revealed that Ivorians tend to have more favorable attitudes toward the private security agencies than the public police. Also, while procedural justice predicted trust and confidence in both agencies, the effect was stronger for private police. Findings from this study offer insights into what Ivorian citizens prefer in terms of security.