The Union of the Comoros consists of Ngazidja, also called Grande Comore, Ndzuwani, also called Anjouan, and Mwali, also called Mohéli. Each island has its own access conditions and service coverage. Mayotte is a separate French jurisdiction, so Comorian police and support arrangements do not automatically apply there. The Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie nationale provide the two main formal reporting and investigation channels. The Police Nationale, through the DGPSN, handles public order, crime detection, intelligence and border or person-movement matters. The gendarmerie provides a parallel reporting and investigation channel. Local stations include police or gendarmerie services in Moroni, Mutsamudu and Fomboni, with additional gendarmerie posts across the three islands. INTERPOL NCB Moroni supports cross-border police cooperation. A victim can make a complaint, called a plainte, at a commissariat or gendarmerie station. The authority should receive the complaint even when the incident occurred in another territorial area. A natural person or legal entity can complain, and an unknown offender can be named contre X, meaning the complaint is filed against an unidentified person. The complaint should describe what happened, when and where it happened, the loss or injury and available evidence; the person making it does not need to determine the legal classification. A receipt and copy of the complaint can be requested. No current official fee schedule or fixed processing time is published. Ministry of Justice information lists limitation periods of one year for contraventions, six years for délits and twenty years for crimes, subject to exceptions. Violence against women and children has high practical relevance. Reported violence-service cases included 170 cases in the first quarter of 2026, including 66 sexual-violence cases, 55 involving girls aged 11 to 17, and 55 cases of economic violence. Women and girls represented 85% of reported cases. In 2024, ten state services d’écoute, meaning listening and referral services, were operational and recorded more than 700 support contacts. Services on all three islands can provide psychological, legal, social and medical orientation. The victim-support number listed in the research is 332 37 87. A person can seek help from a service, hospital or health centre before making a formal complaint. Photos, medical certificates, messages and witness details should be preserved. A protection-order process is cited by the Ministry of Justice, but access and coverage are uneven outside the main centres. Reports also describe family or village-elder settlements of sexual-violence allegations, which can reduce formal enforcement and should not be confused with a court decision. Children have a separate protection and juvenile-justice process. Criminal majority begins at 15. Children under 15 are normally not placed in garde à vue; exceptional retention of a child aged 10 to 15 can last up to ten hours under magistrate control. A parent or tutor and the prosecutor should be notified, and the juge des enfants or tribunal pour mineurs may become involved alongside social and medical assessment. Child survivors can be referred through police, gendarmerie and support services. Trafficking remains relevant. The 2024 Trafficking in Persons report placed Comoros in Tier 2, and a national referral mechanism had begun, but no trafficker conviction was reported and shelter capacity remained limited. Children in domestic work or Quranic schools and people returning or deported from Mayotte are among groups described as vulnerable. Prevention and referral capacity differs between islands. Digital crime is covered by Law 21-012/AU, promulgated in 2022, which addresses cybersecurity, cybercrime and digital evidence. ANADEN and DNCS are the competent cybersecurity authorities, while the CERT national monitors threats, issues alerts and public guidance, assists with incidents and coordinates with other CERTs. A dedicated citizen cybercrime complaint channel or number was not clearly published. Criminal conduct should be reported to the police or gendarmerie; system incidents can also be notified to ANADEN or CERT national when reachable. Preserve screenshots, logs, messages, account details and device evidence. For everyday safety, secure cash, identity documents and passports, keep a passport copy, avoid displaying valuables, stay alert near crowded places and ATMs, use trusted transport and choose licensed ferries. Do not photograph police or military sites. Dating-app fraud, robbery and assault have been reported. Small craft and open-sea travel carry a separate risk of piracy or armed robbery, so maritime precautions matter. The published emergency numbers conflict: US guidance lists Police 17 and UK guidance lists Police 117; local verification is needed before relying on either number. No recent history of terrorism is reported in the cited FCDO material, but that observation is not a guarantee of zero risk. Reports of corruption or bribery involving police or security forces may affect trust and access. Medical care, transport and rapid response can be limited, especially outside Moroni.
Crime in Comoros
Crime in Comoros includes theft, violence, sexual abuse, fraud, trafficking and other conduct that threatens people or property. Petty opportunity crime is reported in crowded markets, parks, beaches and public transport, while street robbery is described as rare. Risk increases when walking alone at night, displaying valuables or using isolated beaches and town centres. Reliable nationwide crime prevalence figures are not currently available, so advisory observations and reported service cases should not be treated as population rates.
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