Crime in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

is high and especially targets visitors.''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.''

Crime by type

Robbery

Petty crime is common throughout Benin.''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.'' Street robbery is a significant problem in Cotonou. Robbery and mugging occur along the Boulevard de France (the beach road by the Marina and Novotel Hotels) and on the beaches near hotels frequented by international visitors. Most of the reported incidents involve the use of force, often by armed persons, with occasional minor injury to the victim. Even in daylight hours, foreigners on the beach near Cotonou are frequent victims of robberies. There has been a continued increase in the number of robberies and

carjacking Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...

incidents after dark, both within metropolitan Cotonou and on highways and rural roads outside of major metropolitan areas. Overland travel to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

is dangerous near the Benin/Nigeria border due to unofficial checkpoints and highway

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

Human trafficking

Drug trafficking

Drug trafficking in Benin is increasing, due mainly to the porous borders and lack of government intervention of the illegal drug trafficking. While neighboring countries are making a concerted effort to fight the drug trade, the traffickers are using Benin to traffic drugs from South America into the United States and Europe. Drug use within Benin is low, with marijuana being the drug of choice. Marijuana is grown in the central region of Benin.

Fraud

There is a high rate of credit card and automated teller machine (ATM) fraud, largely targeting foreigners."Benin"
.

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

. ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.''

Corruption

In 2011,

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

ranked Benin as 100th of 182 countries on perceived corruption. Benin's score was 3 with 10 being the best possible score.

References

Society of Benin Law of Benin {{Benin-stub