The confusion in their appearance preoccupies Douala residents.

At the heart of the growing insecurity in the Littoral Region is the problem of identifying a private security operative from a public security officer. Private security guards wear uniforms of same colour and design and use gadgets similar to those of the police. Thus, making them out becomes hard for the casual citizen.

Some private security companies put on dark trousers and jackets also used by the police. The only difference is the inscription on the back of the jacket which either reads ‘Police’ or the name of the private security company. What preoccupies curious minds apart from the uniforms and epaulets they put on, is the handcuffs some of them carry along. According to competent sources, handcuffs are exclusively for security forces. Private security agents are supposed to use batons for self-defence as stipulated by the law that regulates their functioning. With the similarities in dressing from shoes to cap, confusion abounds.

A policeman in Douala told the story of how he and colleagues were recently taken for private security operatives by a car owner (woman) they stopped on the Wouri Bridge. According to him, the woman they interrogated called her supposedly influential husband, telling him that the private security agents were armed. As the husband rushed to the scene, he discovered that they were policemen and scolded the wife for belittling them.

From the uniform confusion has emerged impostors who mount checkpoints and extort money from naive vehicle owners. On March 8, 2015, three women dressed in police uniform mounted a checkpoint in Nkongsamba, collecting money from all vehicle owners with or without complete documents. Fortunately, they were apprehended and placed under detention while their fellow women celebrated the 30^th edition of the International Women’s Day.