ABSTRACT
Neighbourhood watch has yet to be implemented throughout Mogadishu's districts, but Waberi's experience shows how successful such schemes can be at mobilising communities and collecting the information and intelligence needed to make the district safer. Nevertheless, police-community relations remain marred by distrust, and the collecting of information, let alone of intelligence, remains a long-standing challenge in a clan-based culture in which family and clan come before crime reporting, and memories of Barre's formidable policing system continue to influence attitudes. Waberi's police station may be a place where residents can engage with officers, but most crime is not reported to the police, and even if it were, few expect the police to respond. Most victims turn first to elders or religious leaders.
