This article examines the roles, responsibilities and interactions between the various formal and informal institutions and stakeholders involved in the management of police services in the DRC. It identifies informal networks that influence decision‐making processes and policy implementation. It also identifies gaps and contradictions in the existing legal framework and uses a multidimensional governance approach to understand the complexity of the security sector, the overlap and the interconnectedness between the relevant actors. The study also provides an analysis of interactions between the Congolese population and national and international actors, and the recent efforts to secure police reform. It concludes that the poor coordination between the various actors and institutions involved in the management of security services in the DRC creates a dysfunctional structure characterised by a culture of impunity, with no regard for senior civil servants in charge of coordination.