Mapping Popular Perceptions: Local Security, Insecurity and Police Work in Yemen

Abstract

The goal of this report is to summarize and analyze key survey findings in regard to insecurity and security provisions within each of Yemen’s twenty-one governorates. Before delving into the internal institutional arrangements and conflicts within Yemen’s military-security services (during the period prior to and during the 2011 mass protests), this report will briefly assess the most significant security threats the country has been facing. These prerequisites will allow for the disentanglement of prevalent conflicts and the configuration of conflict-relevant (armed) actors. Furthermore, this report will elaborate on the security developments of each governorate for the time between 2011 and 2013. This will help the reader understand the perceptions of survey respondents toward particular actors, police work, and security. The fieldwork for this report was conducted between November and December 2012. The target sample of the survey is 2000. Due to a security related incident in the city of Sa’da, the actual sample size is 1990. All of the respondents are above the age of 18. The ratio of male and female respondents is even. The urban/rural ratio is 28% urban, 72% rural.