Burkina Faso ENSOG Gendarmerie key terms

A French-style armed police force placed under the Ministry of Defence, tasked with public security, judicial policing and military duties, especially in rural and peri-urban areas of Burkina Faso.

A force responsible for maintaining order and discipline within the armed forces and for policing duties defined by law, combining military status with police missions.

The body of officers empowered to investigate offences, gather evidence and hand suspects over to the courts under the direction of the public prosecutor.

A local gendarmerie unit covering a defined district, handling everyday policing, patrols and first responses to complaints from residents in its area.

The formal line of authority running from senior officers down to individual members, through which orders are transmitted and obedience is owed.

Strict respect for rules, orders and hierarchy expected of uniformed personnel, whose breaches are punished by statutory sanctions rather than ordinary workplace measures.

The quality of acting honestly and consistently with the law and professional ethics, refusing bribes and favouritism even when no one is watching.

The abuse of a public position for private gain, such as accepting money to overlook an offence or to speed up an administrative procedure.

The general good of the community that public servants are expected to serve, taking priority over personal advantage when the two conflict.

An obligation owed by residents to their community and state, such as respecting the law, paying taxes and reporting serious crimes.

The legal bond between a person and a state, carrying rights such as protection and participation, and duties such as loyalty and respect for the constitution.

The supreme legal text organising public powers, defining citizens' fundamental rights and setting the rules that ordinary laws must respect.

A principle under which public authorities themselves are bound by published laws applied by independent courts, rather than acting by arbitrary decision.

A magistrate who directs criminal investigations, decides whether to prosecute and represents society's interest before the courts.

Any act or omission punished by criminal law, classified by seriousness as a minor offence, a correctional offence or a crime.

The rule that every person accused of an offence is treated as innocent until guilt is legally established by a competent court after a fair trial.

The geographic area or category of matters over which a court or police unit has legal authority to act and decide.

The supreme authority of a state to govern itself, control its territory and make binding decisions without external interference.

The semi-arid belt south of the Sahara stretching across West Africa, including northern Burkina Faso, marked by drought and security challenges.

A region classified by its typical temperature and rainfall patterns; Burkina Faso lies mainly in the Sudano-Sahelian zone with one rainy season.

The whole area whose surface water flows into a single river or lake; Burkina Faso straddles basins of the Volta, Niger and Comoé systems.

A major West African river system whose three branches rise in Burkina Faso before flowing south through Ghana to the Atlantic.

The era when European powers ruled African territories; present-day Burkina Faso was a French colony from the late nineteenth century until 1960.

The moment a territory becomes a sovereign state; Burkina Faso, then called Upper Volta, became independent from France on 5 August 1960.

A movement promoting solidarity, cooperation and unity among African peoples and states, often linked to continental institutions and shared development goals.

Recent national and international events, such as elections, security operations or economic reforms, that a well-informed candidate is expected to follow and understand.

The ability to draw valid conclusions from given statements, detect contradictions and solve ordering, deduction or classification puzzles without outside knowledge.

The skill of solving quantitative problems quickly and accurately, including percentages, ratios, averages and simple interest under time pressure.

Calculating without a device, using techniques such as rounding, factoring and estimation to obtain exact or approximate results swiftly during written tests.

A form of deductive argument with two premises leading to a conclusion, tested by checking whether that conclusion necessarily follows from them.

A proportion expressed as a fraction of one hundred, used in tests for discounts, increases, statistics and comparisons between quantities.

A comparison of two quantities showing how many times one contains the other, often written with a colon and simplified like a fraction.

Agreement between sentence elements, especially subject and verb or noun and adjective in gender and number, a frequent point in French grammar tests.

The system of rules governing how words are formed and combined into sentences, covering agreement, tense, pronoun use and sentence structure.

The correct written form of words, including accents, silent letters and homophone distinctions, tested through dictation and correction exercises.

A word whose meaning is the same as or very close to that of another word, used in vocabulary tests to check precision of expression.

A word whose meaning is opposite to that of another word, such as generous and selfish, tested to verify breadth of vocabulary.

The stock of words a person understands and can use, developed through reading and tested through synonym, antonym and sentence-completion items.

The capacity to sustain physical effort over time, assessed in recruitment tests by running or prolonged exercise to judge cardiovascular fitness.

A person's overall ability to perform demanding physical tasks, built through training and checked in recruitment by running, jumps and other standard tests.

A doctor's confirmation that a candidate meets the health standards required for service, based on examination of vision, hearing and general condition.

A structured evaluation of a candidate's personality, emotional stability and stress resistance through interviews and standardised tests before recruitment.

The candidate's clearly expressed and realistic reasons for seeking a gendarmerie career, showing understanding of the role and commitment to public service.