Libéralisation du secteur sécuritaire au Cameroun et incivisme des agents de sécurité privée: analyse des facteurs et des enjeux socio-économiques des sociétés de gardiennage dans l’arrondissement de Yaoundé premier

Abstract

This thesis goes from the observation that, in front of several private and public companies, we observe the presence of police officers but also private security agents wearing yellow uniforms. What poses a problem is the permanence or even the resurgence of insecurity in Yaoundé 1st despite the proliferation of private security companies which support the FMOs in the execution of their missions. From this observation, the following central question arises: How can we analyze the paradox between the proliferation of security companies and the increase in insecurity in the Yaoundé 1st district? This question led to the research hypothesis according to which: The increase in insecurity in the district of Yaoundé 1st may result from the increase in the population, the insufficient numbers in the ranks of the defense forces and of security and security companies, the impoverishment of different social groups, the high rate of youth unemployment and the non-schooling of certain young people. The verification of our hypothesis was carried out by means of two theoretical approaches to namely: “The logics of action” by Henri AMBLARD et al, “Structuro-constructivism” by BOURDIEU. These theories made it possible to identify the factors and issues which maintain the permanence of acts of insecurity in Yaoundé 1st despite the existence of a security arsenal. This dissertation uses the qualitative method without neglecting the quantitative aspects by using direct and indirect observation techniques, which reveal the issues surrounding the practices and uses of private security in Yaoundé 1st. These techniques are supplemented by the semi-structured interview, which allowed the respondents to explain the functioning and the means used to accomplish the missions of the security agencies. The data generated was collected and stored by tools such as: the tape recorder the camera integrated into the mobile phone among others. All of this information is examined by thematic content analysis, which contributed to the interpretation of the comments of the actors on the subject of socio-economic issues of private security. These actors fall into five categories: civil representatives of the State, representatives of FMOs, and entrepreneurs of security companies, security agents or security guards and clients (individuals and businesses) who require security services selected through convenience sampling and snowball sampling. At the end of the examination of this research, the analysis of the hypotheses of this dissertation allowed us, from the history of entrepreneurship, to understand that the growth of security companies has external and internal origins. That there are institutional, economic and socio-cultural factors that have favored the emergence of security companies in Yaoundé 1st. Also the analysis of the state of play of private security activities in Yaoundé 1st allowed us to understand the issues of private security in Cameroon which are of a socio-cultural nature in particular which explains the needs for protection and the uses of private and economic security in that security companies have an important profitable reservoir financially speaking but there are struggles between power and counter-power in the security system not only between public and private actors and between private actors which maintain numerous fractures expressing the permanence of insecurity. Also, security companies are characterized by capitalism while the normative framework is to be the secular arm of the State through the mission of protecting people and their property.