Crime in Congo

Local terms include criminalité for crime, infraction for an offence, banditisme urbain for urban banditry and violences basées sur le genre (VBG) for gender-based violence. The Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC), the Ministère de l’Intérieur, Sécurité, Décentralisation et Affaires coutumières, judicial authorities and the Ministère du Genre, Famille et Enfant each have roles in prevention, reporting, investigation, prosecution or victim support. Urban centres such as Kinshasa and Lubumbashi face theft, pickpocketing, burglary, robbery, scams, taxi or police impersonation, street gangs and express kidnapping. Gold- and diamond-related scams, extortion, car crime and road crime can also occur. In Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, the Kasai provinces and other eastern or border areas, armed robbery, kidnapping, ambushes, pillage, murder and rape create more severe risks. Conditions can change quickly, so local authorities, reliable local contacts and current security information matter more than a nationwide risk label. In 2025, the UN Joint Human Rights Office recorded 887 conflict-related sexual-violence cases affecting 1,534 people. About 80% of those affected were in Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu, and armed groups were linked to 75% of the recorded cases. These figures are indicative records, not a national prevalence rate for all crime. UNICEF also reports serious violence against children, including recruitment, abduction, sexual violence and killing or maiming; its child-protection work includes psychosocial assistance, case management, family reunification and reintegration. Reduce exposure by avoiding walking alone at night, keeping cash and valuables out of sight, using hotel safes and storing passport copies separately. Arrange taxis through a private contact, hotel or tour operator instead of taking a street taxi. Avoid protests and large crowds. In remote or conflict-affected areas, use experienced accompaniment, at least two vehicles, GPS and a satellite phone where the journey requires them. At checkpoints, keep the vehicle locked, open windows only slightly, show documents calmly and do not resist an armed threat. A family or host communication plan can help if travel or communications fail. For an acute police emergency, the Ministère de l’Intérieur identifies 112 as a 24-hour number. A report can also be made at a PNC station or through the Ministry’s online signalement and suivi de dossier portal. The PNC’s stated functions include preventing offences, establishing facts, collecting evidence, identifying suspects and referring the case to the competent judicial authority. Access and response outside major centres are not documented nationwide, and reports of checkpoint abuse or bribery mean that contacts should be handled cautiously while preserving evidence. People affected by gender-based violence, sexual exploitation or abuse, or sexual harassment can use the green lines 495555 and Allô École 178 for listening and referral. CISM, the Centre Intégré des Services Multisectoriels, can provide medical, psychological, legal or judicial, socioeconomic and school-reintegration services. A 24-hour CISM service is documented in Kintambo in Kinshasa, with other centres including Limete, Kananga-Lukonga and Walungu; national coverage is uneven. The CISM package is designed as free, but transport, follow-up treatment, documents, safe accommodation and current local capacity should be checked. The legal-aid framework provides for free assistance from a lawyer, psychologist, health worker or trusted person, but formal rights do not guarantee practical availability everywhere. Child-protection access may run through health services, child-protection networks, UNICEF-supported partners, Toyokana safe spaces and social workers. Digital crime includes scams, business-email compromise, ransomware, digital extortion, identity theft, defamation and stolen-phone crime. The PNC, telecom regulator and parquet publicly return recovered phones in some monthly events, but exact reporting, ownership-proof and fee rules are not established in the available information.