Differentiation of a private security operative from a public security officer has become difficult due to the similar uniforms they wear and this is causing a growing insecurity in the Littoral Region as denizens say they confuse them.

Private security guards wear uniforms of same colour and design and use gadgets similar to those of the police. Thus, making their identification by a casual citizen quite difficult.

Some private security companies put on dark trousers and jackets also used by the police. The only difference is the inscription on the back of the jacket which either reads ‘Police’ or the name of the private security company.

What baffles the minds of residents besides the uniforms is the use of the epaulets and handcuffs by some security guards.

According to competent sources, handcuffs are exclusively for security forces. Private security agents are supposed to use batons for self-defence as stipulated by the law that regulates their functioning. With the similarities in dressing from shoes to cap, the confusion abounds.

A policeman in Douala told the story of how he and colleagues were recently taken for private security operatives by a car owner (woman) they stopped on the Wouri Bridge.

According to him, the woman they interrogated called her supposedly influential husband, telling him that the private security agents were armed. Her husband rushed to the scene, only to find out that they really were policemen and scolded the wife for challenging them.

What makes matters worst concerning the uniform confusion is that, stories have emerged about impostors who mount checkpoints and extort money from naive vehicle owners. On March 8, 2015, three women dressed in police uniform mounted a checkpoint in Nkongsamba, to collect money from all vehicle owners irrespective of the fact that they had complete document or were without complete documents.

Fortunately, they were apprehended and placed under detention.