The city's travel risk rating is EXTREME due to the volatile security environment and, principally, the impunity with which gangs carry out acts of violence. Criminal groups control an estimated 80% of the city, including large sections of the city's western, south-western and north-eastern areas. These groups regularly carry out both opportunistic and well-planned criminal acts, such as kidnaps-for-ransom and homicides. Such crimes in Port-au-Prince target both local and foreign nationals.
The continued deterioration in economic conditions has resulted in widespread shortages of fuel and essential goods. These circumstances, combined with the politically unstable environment and corrupt law enforcement, will further drive criminal acts by both gangs and local community members. Violent social unrest, political instability, persistent scarcity of basic goods, poor infrastructure and exposure to a range of natural disasters also contribute to this risk rating.
Local police forces are under-resourced, highly corrupt and often clash with gang members. As such, reliance on them for support is inadvisable. While a Kenyan-led peacekeeping force has been deployed in the country to assist the Haitian security forces, their effectiveness in reducing crime is currently unclear.