IGP Admits Police Mobility Challenges, Says New Fleet of Vehicles Expected

IGP Touray speaks to the press © Askanwi Media

‍‍By Edward Dalliah, Jr.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Seedy Muctarr Touray has acknowledged that the Gambia Police Force (GPF) lacks enough vehicles to respond swiftly to crimes at some police stations and posts, amid growing public concern over recent killings and police responses to criminal activities.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, 1st July 2026, at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre, the IGP said the force is optimistic that a large consignment of vehicles expected in the coming months will significantly improve its crime response capacity.

Responding to our reporter's question relating to mobility, he said, “We don't have the resources to deploy a vehicle in every police station in this country.” However, added, “We are highly optimistic that in the coming months the police will have a large fleet of vehicles. This will go largely to ameliorate the mobility challenges that we are faced with.”

The press conference was convened to address public concerns over the recent killings reported in several communities. While urging citizens to cooperate with law enforcement, the IGP acknowledged that police cannot be present everywhere; therefore, “encourage the general public to share credible and timely information with the police to enable us to respond to criminal activities.”

From 2021 to 2024, only D31.7 million out of D1.49 billion of the expenditures on vehicles have been spent on law enforcement and crime prevention. © Digitised by Askanwi after collating Data from the Budget

Our reporter raised concerns that members of the public have complained about delays in police response after reporting crimes. Additionally, some have alleged that officers sometimes inform them that no vehicle or fuel is available to respond, leading to growing public frustration and raising questions about whether some people are losing confidence in the police and resorting to taking the law into their own hands.

In response, IGP Touray rejected claims that police stations are unable to respond because they lack fuel. He told our reporter, “Every commissioner within the ranks of the Gambia Police Force receives D15,000 worth of fuel coupons every month from police headquarters. This is different from other vehicles that are deployed within their areas of responsibility, [such as] in the Kanifing Municipality and the West Coast Region.”

His rejection of the fuel claim was followed by his acknowledgment of the police operating with limited vehicles. The police head revealed that the West Coast Region currently operates with only nine police vehicles covering the vast area from Sibanor to Gunjur.

Significantly more funds, D195.9 million out of D1.1 billion, have been spent on fuel and lubricants for law enforcement and crime prevention, according to the budget © Digitised by Askanwi Media from the Budget

“The number of vehicles that we have at West Coast is nine police vehicles, from Sibanor all the way to Gunjur. Each of those vehicles, excluding that of the regional commissioner, has its own fuel allocation. So, I will seriously doubt if what you are telling me is actually the reality—that police station vehicles don't have fuel,” IGP Touray noted.

The Gambia Police Force has for years struggled with an inadequate vehicle fleet, a challenge that has historically affected response times and patrol operations in several parts of the country.

As far back as 2000, a publication by the former Independent newspaper reported officers complaining that they encountered numerous operational difficulties due to the lack of vehicles, with some saying they were forced to hire taxis to conduct investigations.

For more than two decades, the challenge continues to persist. IGP Touray told journalists that “if [the public] say at certain stations there is no vehicle, I will agree.” He went further to explain that the police “don't have the resources to deploy everywhere. What we normally do is assess the strategic importance of each station, depending on the number of cases reported there. That usually informs our deployment of resources, especially mobility.”

Vehicle Garage structure at Kalagi Police Station © Askanwi Media

During a trip to Foni late last year, our reporter visited the Kalagi Police, where a senior police officer disclosed that the station had operated without a patrol vehicle for years. The officer explained that the situation has severely limited their ability to enforce the law, particularly when pursuing suspects who refuse to stop at checkpoints.

Our team was shown a structure the officer said was once used as a vehicle garage, but the structure was covered with zinc sheets, an indication that no vehicle had occupied the space in recent years. Asked how officers respond to crimes or pursue fleeing suspects, the officer said their only available means of transport was a motorcycle.

With the IGP's admission that the force cannot provide vehicles to every police station, coupled with his disclosure that the entire West Coast Region operates with only nine police vehicles, this underscores the urgent need for greater investment in police mobility if the force is to respond effectively to crime and strengthen public confidence.