Crime in Cameroon

Available public sources do not provide a current, nationally consolidated crime-rate series for Cameroon. Official travel advisories, operational reports and child-protection sources nevertheless identify recurring risks, including armed robbery, mugging, burglary or home invasion, phone and bag snatching, carjacking, criminal kidnapping for ransom, sexual assault, trafficking, exploitation, scams, identity theft and cyber-enabled extortion. In Yaoundé and Douala, petty crime is reported particularly around markets, bars, ATMs, intersections, nightlife areas, bus stations, hotels and taxis. Cited locations include Briqueterie, Mvog-Ada, Melen and Nkolndongo in Yaoundé, and Bonaberi, Akwa, New Bell, Deido and the PK11-PK21 area in Douala. Mokolo, Nkololun and Village are also identified in some foreign-government advice. Armed robbery concerns are additionally reported around Ngaoundéré and Bafoussam. Exposure is higher in parts of the Far North, North, Adamawa and East near the borders with the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria, as well as in the North-West and South-West. Travel on major intercity corridors can carry elevated risk, including areas around Bamenda-Banyo, Bafoussam-Banyo, Bafoussam-Douala, Yaoundé-Garoua and Boulaï-Ngaoundéré. Reduce exposure by avoiding isolated places and unnecessary night travel, keeping phones, jewellery and cash out of sight, securing doors and windows, and arranging transport through trusted providers. Avoid unregistered taxis or motorbike taxis where local risk is elevated. Keep vehicle doors locked and windows closed, avoid crowds, protests and roadblocks, and do not physically resist a robbery. For meetings arranged through dating applications, choose a public place, share the location with a trusted contact, arrange a check-in plan and do not leave drinks unattended. Common fraud warnings include romance schemes, advance-fee demands, inheritance offers, fake jobs or work permits, adoption claims, lotteries, unusually profitable trades and false official or military requests. Do not transfer money or disclose sensitive information before verifying the person, institution and request independently. For immediate danger, Police secours can be reached on 17 or 117 from a mobile phone. The Gendarmerie COG emergency line is 113 and is described as free and available 24 hours a day; local coverage and response capacity can vary. The Ministry of Territorial Administration, commonly abbreviated MINAT, lists emergency contacts for Yaoundé, Douala and Garoua. The Gendarmerie anti-corruption line 1501 is described as free, available 24 hours a day and able to handle reports anonymously. The Code of Criminal Procedure, or CPP, allows a victim to make an oral or written plainte, meaning a criminal complaint. A third party can make a dénonciation, or report of suspected crime. The procedure has no prescribed form and no stamp duty. A complaint can be submitted directly to the Procureur de la République, an officier de police judiciaire, or a local administrative authority when the other options are unavailable; that authority must forward it to the prosecutor or nearest judicial police officer. Record dates, places, descriptions, names, contacts, transaction evidence, screenshots and medical records, and keep copies of anything submitted. The national police, including its urban emergency and policing services, and the Gendarmerie Nationale have overlapping public-safety functions but different institutional roles. The Gendarmerie has administrative, judicial and military-police responsibilities, a broad territorial network and a significant presence in rural areas and transport corridors. Judicial police officers record offences, gather evidence, identify suspected perpetrators and execute warrants or court decisions. Investigation times vary, and foreign-government assessments describe practical response capacity as limited in some settings. Police and gendarmerie checkpoints are common. Carry a passport or residence permit, or a certified passport copy, together with a driving licence and vehicle documents when travelling by car. Communicate calmly through a slightly opened window. Do not pay an unofficial bribe; request a written citation or ticket and use the competent court process for payment. Report suspected misconduct by Gendarmerie personnel through 1501. Support for victims of gender-based violence, children and families falls in part within the mandate of the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family, known as MINPROFF. Available support may include referral, psychosocial, medical, legal and protection services, but coverage is fragmented. A One Stop Center at Centre AFIRI and Hôpital Jamot in Yaoundé was inaugurated in 2025. MINPROFF lists 116 as a child-help line. RECOPE community mechanisms can identify and refer cases of child violence, abuse and exploitation. Children and adolescents face particular risks from violence, abuse, exploitation, child marriage, child labour, recruitment and trafficking, especially in crisis settings. A child-protection case-management system was adopted in 2024, but the available research does not establish a separate juvenile-crime reporting system. Digital crime includes phone and online fraud, Mobile Money scams, identity theft, blackmail, defamation, unauthorised access, card or ATM fraud, telecom fraud and child sexual exploitation. Cameroon’s Law No. 2010/012 provides the relevant cybercrime framework. Preserve phone numbers, chats, URLs, account identifiers, receipts and device data, and do not pay extortion or scam demands. Official Gendarmerie cases show a practical pathway from a complaint at a local unit to investigation and referral to the prosecutor. Emergency calls are free where the stated service is available, but transport, medical care, legal help and shelter may involve costs and are not uniformly available nationwide. Language, confidentiality, transport access and institutional response differ by region. State and community services are particularly difficult to reach in some conflict-affected, border and rural areas. Terrorism, separatist conflict, disasters and consumer remedies may affect personal safety, but their primary legal and institutional treatment belongs to other subject areas.