ENTITIES AND PUBLIC POLICIES
MUNICIPAL
POLICE FORCES
Thematic public report
Summary report
October 2020
2
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
g
DISCLAIMER
This summary report is intended to facilitate the reading and use
of the Audit Office report.
The Cour des comptes [Audit Office] is only accountable for the
report.
The responses from the administrative bodies and ministries
concerned appear in the follow-up to the report.
3
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Summary
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
An expansion of municipal police forces which is
more qualitative than quantitative
7
New video protection technologies with no suitable
legal structure
11
A national governance to be reformed .
13
Community policing forces, some of which are becoming
similar to the national security forces .
15
Municipal police forces for which evaluation and
control must be strengthened .
17
Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Introduction
Historically, policing has always been one of the most ancient powers of mayors,
and Central Government has only gradually emerged as the guarantor of security
for citizens . Organisation of public security authorities was introduced through
legislation dated 6
th
April 1884, which shared policing powers between mayors
and prefects according to cities population, and changed little until the middle
of the 20
th
century . However, the multiplication of municipal police forces and
their professionalisation are more recent phenomena, initiated by legislation
dated 15
th
April 1999 relating to municipal police forces
1
which acknowledges
their contribution and facilitates their development .
In relation to its European neighbours, France sits beside Italy and Spain among
countries in the intermediate category where municipal police forces respond
in addition to the national forces By contrast, in countries that do not have
municipal police forces (e .g . United Kingdom), the national police force is very
deconcentrated . In Federal States (e .g . Germany), the local security forces carry
out most of the security missions .
In an investigation focusing on
the Organisation and management of public
security forces
published in 2011
2
, the Cour des Comptes observed significant
expansion in municipal police forces over the decade 2000-2010 and a
deficiency in regulatory action from Central Government . The period was also
characterised by the surge in video protection, which benefited from political
and financial support . The Cour des Comptes had issued some recommendations
relating to training and control of municipal police forces, as well as in favour of
improved control of video protection . The recommendations relating training
for municipal police officers and video protection implementing partners have
been implemented . Other recommendations relating to external auditing of
municipal police forces, knowledge of the pool of cameras or the evaluation of
its effectiveness have yet to be acted upon .
1 Law No . 99-291 dated 15th April 1999 relating to municipal police forces .
2 Cour des Comptes,
Organisation and management of public security forces
, Thematic public
report, French Documentation, July 2011, available at www .ccomptes .fr .
6
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Introduction
As part of an investigation completed in June 2020, the Cour des Comptes
updated the analysis carried out in 2011 . It observed that the development
of municipal police forces, which is still ongoing, is less related to employee
numbers than to competencies and equipment . Above all, their very
existence is no longer hardly even debatable in principle and municipal
police forces find themselves permanently installed as a useful, or even
essential component of public security .
Furthermore, their missions and scope of intervention have been expanded .
The observation according to which the more interventionist municipal
police forces tended to replace the national forces is more pronounced
today than in 2011 . This results in a need for increased coordination between
the two types of police forces . Management of municipal police forces has
improved overall . However, it must still be accompanied by a reinforcement
of external auditing and an evaluation of activity .
This work builds on that carried out by the Cour des Comptes concerning
other actors of the “security continuum”, particularly private security
companies
3
3 Cour des Comptes, Annual public report 2018,
Private security activities: an increasing
contribution to public security, insufficient regulation
French documentation, February 2018,
available at www .ccomptes .fr .
7
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
An expansion of municipal police
forces which is more qualitative
than quantitative
In ten years, the role of municipal
police
forces
in
public
security
measures has been reinforced . To
meet demand for security, employee
numbers have increased, albeit at a
slower rate than that observed over
the previous decade . Between 2010
and 2018, the number of municipal
police officers rose by 24 %, compared
to 35 % between 2002 and 2010 . This
rise is faster than that of employee
numbers for the National Police and
Gendarmerie forces (+ 3 % since
2010) . Today, employee numbers in
some municipal police authorities
are almost on a par with those of
the National Police force, such as in
Cannes, for example .
Evolution of employee numbers in municipal security forces
(2010-2018)
Source : Cour des comptes à partir des données du ministère de l’intérieur (direction des libertés
publiques et des affaires juridiques), site data.gouv.fr,
*ASVP et ASP pour Paris
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
20 000
25 000
30 000
35 000
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
1450
1217
983
958
1064
1016
986
921
7510
6747
5983
6283
8623
8869
9079
8145
19370
19425
19479
19916
19971
21238
21454
21988
2018
725
7982
22780
2019
725
8 239
23934
Municipal police officers
ASVP (*)
Rural police officers
8
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Municipal
police
authorities
have
multiplied and their employee numbers
have risen; however, these do not follow
an
even
geographical
distribution .
Indeed, this is primarily an urban
phenomenon, particularly pronounced
in the Île-de-France region and on the
Mediterranean arc .
Although these
traditional
geographical
dominants
are confirmed, municipal police forces
have been created in regions where
they
were
practically
non-existent
ten years ago, such as the Normandy,
Brittany
or
Hauts-de-France
local
public entities .
Towns and cities that
choose not to have a municipal police
force are increasingly rare .
The case
of Ville de Paris, which aims to have a
force of 3,400 offi
cers End-2020, is a
particularly good example of this trend .
An expansion of municipal police forces
which is more qualitative than quantitative
Coverage rate
4
of French territory by municipal police offi
cers
Source: Interior ministry (Directorate of Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs)
4 The coverage rate corresponds to the number of municipal police offi
cers per 1,000 inhabitants
in each local public entity .
9
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
The deployment of inter-communal
police forces, which would provide a
wider access to municipal police forces
for populations who do not currently
benefit from them, is constrained
by the reluctance of mayors to pool
this
essential
instrument,
a
sign
of a police authority that is theirs
and that they cannot delegate . The
conditions for pooling of municipal
police
officers
between
different
cities or within a public body for
inter-communal
cooperation
could
be relaxed, in particular by revising –
or even eliminating – certain binding
thresholds .
For a municipal police force is the
expression of a political choice, which
does not necessarily depend on the
level of delinquency observed locally .
In the Oise local public entity, for
example, employee numbers for the
municipal police force in Beauvais (45)
are far higher than those in Creil (15),
whereas the criminality rate is lower
(6 .85 per 100 inhabitants compared to
15 .22 in Creil in 2018) . cities are indeed
free to create a municipal police force,
and define its size, equipment and
the employment doctrine, within the
limits of the jurisdictions granted to
them by legislation .
These
choices
are
in
particular
reflected in the decision to issue
weapons to municipal police officers .
Over the last ten years, following the
terrorist attacks, with pressure exerted
by the unions and by public opinion,
weapons are become commonplace
and lethal weaponry is predominant .
In 2018, 81 % of municipal police
officers carried weapons and, for the
first time, more than half (57 %) were
issued with firearms .
An expansion of municipal police forces
which is more qualitative than quantitative
Evolution in municipal police officer weaponry (2014-2018)
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
20 000
25 000
2014
19 971
77 %
37 %
2015
21 238
80 %
50 %
2016
81 %
44 %
21 454
2017
82 %
48 %
21 988
2019
77 %
57
%
23 934
2018
77 %
53 %
22 780
Nombre de policiers municipaux
Dont dotés d’armes de catégorie D
Dont dotés d’armes à feu de catégorie B
Source: Cour des Comptes and Interior ministry (DLPAJ)
11
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Similarly, video protection is no
longer
hardly
even
debatable
in
principle
and
has
become
a
commonplace
instrument
in
everyday use for municipal police
forces . Urban supervision centres ,
in which images filmed by cameras
are watched live by municipal police
officers, have multiplied .
New video protection technologies
with no suitable legal structure
Evolution of the number of urban supervision centres (2014-2018)
Source: Cour des Comptes using shared data and Interior
ministry (DLPAJ)
507
434
584
554
768
903
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1 000
However,
important
debates
now
relate to the control technological
innovations such as drones or face
recognition,
which
are
expanding
due to a persistent legal vacuum .
Yet, as the surveillance measures
introduced during the confinement
of Spring 2020 have shown, this legal
vacuum leads to unstructured usage
of technical resources acquired by
both the national and municipal
security
forces,
and
which
they
certainly intend to use . There is now
a need to fill this vacuum by finding a
balance between innovation and the
protection of basic rights .
13
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
At the same time, the missions and
prerogatives
of
municipal
police
officers have been extended . From
now on, they can have direct access to
certain police files and carry out blood
alcohol screening as part of road
traffic control operations .
These changes are often made with
insufficient foresight: there is a need,
for example, for municipal police
officers to have direct access to the
reported objects and vehicles file
(FOVeS), in connection with their
jurisdictions in road traffic terms .
They are above all made as the need
arises, without any overall strategic
thinking about the role of municipal
police forces in what is referred to as
the “security continuum” between
the various forces that contribute to
public security .
These shortcomings are partly caused
by weakness on the part of the national
bodies for dialogue and governance,
the main one being the municipal
police
force
advisory
committee .
Indeed, this committee does not meet
often enough and its meetings are
monopolised by statutory questions
to the detriment of strategic subjects .
They are above all caused by the
reluctance of Central Government to
define a clear scope of intervention
for municipal police forces and an
assumed complementarity with the
national police force, in the absence of
a unified employment doctrine .
A national governance
to be reformed
15
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
As
regards
missions
entrusted
to
municipal
police
forces,
the
investigation by the Cour des Comptes
found evidence of a very diverse role,
ranging from presence and prevention
activities to active interventions in
view
of
detecting
and
repressing
delinquency .
All municipal police forces, including
the
most
elaborate
ones,
are
responsible for general surveillance,
public peace and health . However,
increasing
numbers
are
now
intervening
actively
in
the
fight
against delinquency with equipment
and measures similar to those of the
national police force . A prime example
of this is the very sharp rise in persons
apprehended in flagrante delicto by
municipal police officers, for reasons
unrelated to their core mission, such
as drug trafficking .
In doing so, these municipal police
forces are becoming similar to public
thoroughfare units, going above and
beyond the task share initially set
out in the coordination conventions
that are supposed to organise their
relations . It is difficult to determine
whether this
phenomenon
is the
effect of municipal police forces filling
the vacuum created by the reduced
engagement
of
national
police
officers, or a reduced involvement
of national police officers due to the
significant rise in municipal resources .
Community policing forces, some
of which are becoming similar
to the national security forces
Comparative evolution of national and municipal employee numbers
in the cities of the sample
Source: Cour des Comptes using shared data and Interior ministry
(FSI: Internal security forces)
12 300
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2 850
2 900
2 950
3 000
3 050
3 100
3 150
3 200
12 400
12 500
12 600
12 700
12 800
12 900
Total FSI
Total PM (échelle de droite)
16
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Using
the
data
available,
it
is
impossible to
make
a
definitive
conclusion;
however;
a
drop
in
national police interventions was
observed in cities with an elaborate
municipal
police
force .
This
substitution effect is particularly
notable
for
interventions
for
disturbing the peace at night, for
example: in towns and cities such
as Nice or Hyères, the number
of
interventions
carried
out
by
national police officers decreases
every year whereas municipal police
interventions are multiplying and
end up overtaking those of the
national security forces .
Community policing forces, some of which are
becoming similar to the national security forces
17
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Municipal police forces for
which evaluation and control
must be strengthened
Investment in security missions is
costly for cities, whether in terms
of wage bills, equipment purchases
or investment in video protection
systems .
However
little
is
known
about
this cost, due to the lack of an
accounting
classification to
make
it possible to isolate the “municipal
police” component in local budgets .
Controlling the wage bill, estimated
at 1 .26 billion € for all the cities
concerned, is the major budgetary
challenge for the latter, in particular
due to the competition required to
attract officers from a professional
security sector which is globally under
strain . To this end, there is reason
to
envisage
the
restructuration
of the employment framework of
municipal
police
executives,
and
stricter supervision of the profession
of video-viewer .
As a general rule, municipal police
forces have been professionalised
over the last ten years, in particular
thanks
to
a
recognised
training
course, provided by the National
Centre for the territorial civil service
(CNFPT) .
Improvements
can
still
be made, particularly to optimise
training
leave
which
immobilises
officers for long periods .
Real
performance
evaluation
measures must still be created for
municipal
police
forces .
External
auditing, currently deficient due to
being subject to prior approval from
the advisory committee, must be
reinforced .
*
**
There is every reason to believe that
municipal police forces will continue to
expand . As part of the sanitary state of
emergency, municipal police officers
have also been very busy sanctioning
any breaches of the sanitary safety
rules .
Ultimately,
this
movement
may
increase the –
already
existing –
dependence of Central Government
security forces on services over which
they have no creative or operational
control . It also underlines by inference
the situation faced by the national
security
forces,
and
in
particular
the national police force, which is
finding it difficult to accomplish all
the tasks under its responsibility .
This is particularly the case in the
Greater Paris area, as shown by the
Cour des Comptes in its report on
the Police Prefecture of Paris
5
” . In
5 Cour des Comptes, Thematic public report,
Police Prefecture of Paris
French Documentation,
December 2019, available at www .ccomptes .fr .
18
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Municipal police forces for which evaluation
and control must be strengthened
response to the appeal made by
the mayors of large towns and
cities, the Prime Minister, during a
visit to Toulouse on 9th October
2020, launched the first “integrated
security contract” with the city, a
partnership involving the allocation
of additional national police officers
in exchange for “material assistance”
to accommodate them, and the
reinforcement of municipal police
forces and video protection .
Ultimately, these observations invite
Central Government to clarify the
role that it wishes to grant the local
level in the “security continuum” .
Other European countries, such as
the-United Kingdom, Belgium and
the Netherlands have undertaken
a
comparable
route
with
high
integration
of
the
community
policing doctrine, which gives a
prominent
role
to
community
policing missions (cf . Appendix No .
4) . To this end, the case of Belgium
is
particularly
emblematic:
after
a
serious
crisis
in
the
security
sector during the 1990’s, Belgium
restructured its various police forces,
including the Royal gendarmerie, by
integrating them on a priority basis
in police forces at the communal
level, with the federal police forces
only
retaining
some
residual
missions .
The Cour des Comptes concluded
its
work
by
formulating
several
recommendations, of which the main
one aims to improve the organisation
of complementarity in the context of
the local security conventions and to
facilitate collaborative work between
the national police force and municipal
police
forces
(Recommendation
No . 6) .
If,
as
it
seems
likely,
municipal
police forces are to be increasingly
called
upon
to
move
into
the
area of public peace and security,
which the national police force is
increasingly reluctant to deal with,
a more assertive policy from Central
Government will be required, and
which should consist in encouraging
the development of municipal police
forces, while providing appropriate
guidance .
This
policy
must
pay
more attention to the training of
municipal police officers, and also
to the external auditing of their
activities .
19
Summary of the Thematic Public Report of the Cour des comptes
Recommendations
1.
Encourage pooling of the human
and material resources of municipal
police forces at inter-communality
level, by promoting dual authority
(functional/controlling)
(SGMI, DGCL)
2.
Encourage the signing of local
security objective contracts with
mobility organisational authorities
and
their
users
and
formalise
coordination commitments between
the forces, particularly the municipal
ones, depending on the territories
(SGMI, DCS, DACG)
3.
Modify the ruling authorising
automated personal data processing
to provide direct access to the FOVeS
file for approved municipal police
officers
(SGMI, DCS)
4.
Establish precise mapping of the
deployment
of
video-protection
systems by the territorial authorities
(SGMI, DCS)
5.
Initiate an evaluation of the
effectiveness of video protection
on the
public thoroughfare,
in
particular for solving crimes and
misdemeanours,
in
conjunction
with researchers and contractual
auditors
(SGMI, DCS, DACG)
6.
As part of the work relating to
future security legislation, define a
more active policy for the support
and clarification of missions with
respect to municipal police forces,
based on contractualisation and,
where applicable, adequate funding
to
enhance
complementarity
between
the
national
and
municipal police forces as part of
the “security continuum”
(SGMI,
DCS)
7.
Refocus the municipal police force
advisory committee on the strategic
and operational for municipal police
forces,
reserving
any
statutory
questions for the High Council of the
territorial civil service (SGMI) .
8.
Provide
guidance,
via
the
regulatory route, for operational,
legal and ethical training, as well
as the activities of staff assigned to
the urban supervision centre
(SGMI,
DGCL, CSFPT, CNFPT)
9.
Improve
the
quality
of
the
mandatory continuous training and
include prior training for weapon
issuance for category D weapons
in the initial training
(SGMI, DCS,
CNFPT)
10.
Encourage
the
cities
and
inter-communal
organisations
to
evaluate
the
activity
and
effectiveness
of
the
municipal
police
forces
in
their
territory
(SGMI, DCS)
11.
Organise the external auditing
of municipal police forces according
to suitable measures
(SGMI, DCS)