Utility and use of research data by the police
The police representatives were in agreement on the relevance and utility of the research data shared at the workshop. Some especially appreciated the fact that the data provided a global view of what was happening in Ouagadougou, especially with regard to the most crash-prone areas of the city. While they were able intuitively to identify road risks in their own units, this data led them to view road risk differently. According to some respondents, the research results made it possible to quantify the risk—that is, to know the probabilities of road crash occurrences, such as their higher incidence at certain intersections and on weekends, as well as the severity of crashes for all units. These results also provided information on the groups most at risk of crashes, mainly involving bicycles and two-wheeled motorized vehicles, notably women and adolescents aged 13 to 15 years.Footnote 1 Only 6% of those injured were pedestrians.
“It’s an outcome of the workshop because it allowed us to tell the authorities which were the intersections where crashes are frequent, and the times at which collisions are reported. If we hadn’t been able to identify that these areas were crash-prone, we wouldn’t have been able to improve safety.”
The research data, mainly those dealing with the most crash-prone areas, had been put to use. Thus, shortly after the workshop, two unit heads met with their teams to discuss the research data and to identify what was already being done and what should be improved in their unit. One of them studied, with his colleagues, the map provided by the research team describing the crash-prone zones for their unit and for all the units in Ouagadougou. He took the initiative of displaying it in a visible location to raise awareness. In December 2019, the map showing crash concentration zones in Ouagadougou was still posted in the secretariat of the Central Station of the National Police (Fig. 2). According to two respondents, many student police officers and their trainers also used the research data to prepare their theses, based on the tables and other documents provided by the team (e.g. summary sheets of findings).
New ways of seeing and intervening within teams and sometimes between units
While the research data appeared to be useful, respondents had difficulty commenting on the level of change produced among unit colleagues. Some reported resistance to change by police officers or even the administration. For example, one respondent indicated that it was difficult to influence colleagues and have an impact on the entire territory. Nevertheless, changes were sometimes noted. Some unit heads were troubled by the data on the often difficult experiences of the injured, as these data highlighted significant deficiencies in hospital care. While these data were more relevant to health actors, one unit head indicated that his team now took into account the course and duration of care for the injured in planning face-to-face meetings of witnesses. It is in this step, which precedes the closing of the crash file, that responsibility for the crash is established.
“…our only job was to fill out the reports. We didn’t follow up to see what happened to the injured, except when they come back to our level for the witness meetings…. With the studies we got an idea of the care, how long it can take, how people deal with it…. Now we take into account the duration of treatment before closing the file.”
Another respondent indicated that his team tended to respond more quickly to road crashes, ensuring a timely presence at the scene to clear it and thereby avoid causing further crashes.
“After the workshop, as soon as I got back, I gathered my things together [at the police station], I posted the chart you gave me to my unit so we could study it together… As soon as there’s a crash, we try to react quickly.”
The head of another unit also reported on awareness-raising activities conducted with young people, who often have no knowledge of the highway code. The members of his team took the initiative to download the code onto electronic tablets and make it accessible to crash victims, offering them the possibility of transferring it onto their mobile phones. They talked with the crash victims and discussed road safety with them.
Efforts were also made to raise awareness and enforce sanctions at intersections (e.g. payment of fines, confiscation of vehicles),Footnote 2 according to one unit head.
“We also had to act by imposing fines. Concretely, what had to be done was, not only were you going to pay the fine, but you wouldn’t get your vehicle back for at least two weeks. So it had an impact, it had a positive effect on crashes.”
Finally, one respondent indicated that he now tended to contact his colleagues in other units for assistance in covering a crash site when he was unable to send personnel to the scene.
Authorities alerted and efforts to increase safety
Beyond the perceived utility of the research results and the implementation of changes by some people, respondents reported a lack of action at the unit and senior authority levels. They pointed to the perceived lack of interest around the issue of road crashes among senior policymakers. One unit head had been made more aware and was brought to see that they had to be reached, they had to really feel the reality of what was happening. Another felt powerless and believed he was too far removed from the decision-making authorities to really be able to instigate change. Some respondents felt that, if another deliberative workshop were to be held, efforts should be made to engage policymakers more.
Nevertheless, it appeared that actions were taken by the political authorities. According to two respondents, a report was transmitted to the authorities, based on the meeting summaries sent to the immediate superiors in each unit. The policy level did, in fact, receive this report and decided to put it into action, hence the increased security at intersections about 6 months after the workshop. Additional budgets were allocated and an increased police presence was observed, particularly at the most crash-prone intersections with traffic lights, which corroborated the data produced by one of the spatial analyses conducted as part of the project. That analysis showed that the number of crashes was much higher at intersections with traffic lights than at other intersections [16]. The increased security at intersections was implemented at the initiative of the administrative and political authorities, who had been alerted and made aware of the issue.
Difficulty of sustaining changes
There appeared, however, to have been a slackening of road surveillance over time. One respondent even felt they were back to square one, and others concurred. It was not possible to confirm this information, nor to speculate on the real causes of this apparent backsliding. Some attributed it to a lack of staff (e.g. staff turnover) and of material resources in the units. For example, for almost 6 months, one unit was unable to conduct any outings due to a lack of functioning vehicles. During that time, the central police station took on the task of preparing reports. Others suggested that personnel changes at the administrative level and a lack of resources at the policy level may also have had an impact.
One unit head, on the other hand, believed surveillance had been sustained, but with less rigor. He noted that police presence was now random rather than continuous at the designated intersections. In his opinion, there had been a relaxation of awareness-raising activities and sanctions, such that users were less afraid of the police. That respondent felt, however, that people needed to be made more aware. The current actions were not adequately reaching users, who were often very young and illiterate, did not know how to drive, or drove without a license.
To ensure the sustainability of the changes initiated, some respondents felt it would be necessary to continue alerting the authorities, drawing their attention to traffic crashes and their consequences, and urging them to break the chain of civic irresponsibility among both users and police officers (very few of whom wore helmets in traffic). Action was also needed on currently defective road infrastructures (e.g. lanes often narrow and congested) and on the organization of police work.
Desire to sustain data collection
Continued data collection would also be highly desirable to better assess the evolution of road crashes in Ouagadougou. Are the areas identified still active? Have the road risks taken other forms or have they shifted elsewhere? Some respondents would have liked to continue receiving information on crash-prone areas, but this was apparently no longer the case once the funded research project ended. According to one respondent, such data are necessary and can be useful when advocating with authorities for additional resources.
Anything that is digital and increases the efficiency and speed of work appeared to be well received by respondents. Several noted that they appreciated the use of geo-tracers. According to one unit head, the tool allowed direct transmission of information, although it sometimes presented operating problems (e.g. geo-tracer malfunction) [4]. The option proposed by the team of using a smartphone, on the other hand, seemed ideal. Respondents acknowledged that the technology allowed both geo-location and note-taking with download capabilities. The technology enabled rapid activation of results and rigorous data collection on an ongoing basis.