The focus of this report is to explore and describe informal security organizations (mainly community watch and vigilante groups) in modern-day Liberia, a country that at the moment is undergoing security sector reform with major assistance from the international community. The study draws on interviews carried out with informally organized security groups found in various neighbourhoods in urban Monrovia, in Montserrado County, and in the rural city of Voinjama, in Lofa County.
Vigilantism in Liberia captures a range of interacting political, social, economic, local and international factors and dynamics. By deepening the understanding of Liberia’s complex security setting, vigilante activities can be understood as something neither legal, nor something completely illegal, but rather a dynamic response to a variety of needs, including security. One of the main findings in this report is that these informal groups of security providers, both in urban and rural settings, perceive the state’s provision of security as something complementary to their own security provision. In fact, the real gatekeepers to Liberia’s criminal justice system are the vigilante groups, not the formal security providers, who apprehend suspected criminals and assess their guilt within the confines of the local communities.
Key findings and implications for SSR Policy include the following:
- Additional research is needed, particularly to fully understand the role of these groups in various settings. This may mean following the development, on an ongoing basis, of a specific group to better understand how they adapt or change to Liberia’s security setting. More specifically, criteria could be developed in order to better assess the function, effectiveness, and interests of these groups.
- Addressing the negative consequences of these groups is more challenging. The increased use of violence by these groups is problematic and only serves to further fuel a sense of insecurity and instability. Much of this violence, including mob violence, has emerged in reaction to the frustration felt with the lack of consequences or punishment given to ‘suspected criminals’. There appears to be a lack of information amongst vigilante groups, but even within the larger community, about the criminal justice process. Citizen’s lack of knowledge about how the security system works intensifies the feeling of disempowerment, which increases frustration and resentment with the local police (the most visible expression of government authority).
- Vigilante groups are often the most culturally and geographically viable option for addressing a specific community’s safety needs and tie better into traditional structures than state-driven policing. This is particularly true if one considers places like Voinjama, where many of the women do not communicate in English and thus are unable to communicate with the local police (who are often men from other parts of the country); the reliance on security depends on such groups. This also illustrates the necessity, or at least relevance, of recruiting police officers and placing them back in their own home communities.
- In the case of Liberia, it is evident that a multi-layered approach to SSR has not been taken. The focus has been on institution-building, particularly those of the police and the military, while ignoring the role of the poorly understood vigilante and community watch groups. Yet the need to incorporate these groups into the wider conceptual and practical understanding of security service delivery has been echoed by others.
