Senegal’s security forces are enhancing their strategic intelligence capabilities

Threat forecasting is a key element in strengthening border security and preventing issues linked to organised crime, radicalisation, violent extremism and other cross-border risks.

In increasingly complex contexts, security forces need tools that enable them to identify early warning signs of risk, analyse information from various sources and transform that data into useful outputs for operational decision-making.

With this aim, the European POC Senegal II project has organised two specialist training courses in Dakar for the Forecasting and Prevention Unit (CAP) of the Senegalese National Gendarmerie. These sessions focus on the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism, as well as on the use of open-source intelligence tools, known as OSINT.

Intelligence, prevention and information analysis

The first training session focused on strengthening participants’ ability to recognise indicators of radicalisation, analyse vulnerability factors and produce analytical reports to support command and planning. The aim is to improve the early detection of threats before they develop into situations posing a greater operational risk.

The second training session focused on the practical use of the internet, social media, digital media and open-source databases to support intelligence work. Participants worked on searching for, verifying, organising and analysing useful information to identify trends, track threats and prepare more robust analyses.

These activities are in response to a request from the National Gendarmerie and reflect the growing interest among Senegalese institutions in strengthening their capacity for anticipation, prevention and coordination in the face of cross-border threats.

Through these training programmes, the project implemented by FIAP in partnership with France is helping to consolidate a more coordinated and effective response in the areas of internal security and border management.