ABSTRACT
The
failure of government programmes for the control of crime informed private
citizens playing a variety of roles that is making a decisive difference in the
prevention, detection and prosecution of crime around the world. Private
Citizens represent an underutilized source of assistance in crime control and
social decay management. While law abiding citizens are willing and potentially
capable of assisting the police, they lack direction and experience. However,
with proper supervision and guidance by the police, citizens can contribute to
reduction of crime and betterment of society. This study therefore aimed to
ascertain the effect of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria. The
followings were the objectives of the study: to identify the prevalence of community policing on crime reduction in
Nigeria, to determine the factors that affect community
policing in Nigeria and to inquire the efforts taken by the government to ensure better
community policing in Nigeria.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Neighbourhood
watch is one of the traditional and best known crime prevention concepts in
North America. It was popularly known as the neighbourhood watch organization
in Pasadena Hills, under the direction of St. Louis Country Police Officer,
Kyle Jundt, resident Geno Salvati and resident Ed Tyler. The International Code
of Enforcement Ethics reveals the primary reason for establishing formal police
system in any society thus: as a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is
to serve mankind and property; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the
innocent against deception; the weak against oppression or intimidation, and
the peaceful against violence and disorder; and to respect constitutional
rights of all the men to liberty, equity and justice (Qadri, 2005). Admittedly,
the main role of the police is to enforce law and order, safeguard lives and
property, and render other essential services in the society. Put in a
different way, fighting crimes and criminals is so difficult that the police
and other law enforcement agencies alone cannot perform this task and achieve
maximum positive results. Since the most visible part of criminal activities
take place at the neighbourhood level, policing agencies need public support
and co-operation. Intensive partnership and collaborative efforts of both the
formal and informal agents of social control remain preconditions for a
possible near ‘crime-free’ society (a complete crime free society is utopia);
in other words, the idea will lead to a great success in crime prevention and
control in the community.
Community policing is in hand with systematic
relationship between the police and the entire people in the community. Police
roles and functions are not simply law enforcement but also include tackling a
huge range of community problems. The movement from traditional policing to
community policing is a universal phenomenon and the Nigeria police cannot be
an exception to this. Indeed, community policing as a philosophy and practice
is a veritable vehicle for police reforms (Okiro, 2007). The Nigeria police in
2004, adopted community policing as a practical approach to police reforms. The
stage was indeed set for a clear departure from traditional policing, that was
reactive and incident based, to a problem solving oriented policing that is
proactive with the community as the important part of policing objectives
(Abdulrahaman, 2007).
Community
policing is a paradigm shift that seeks to focus on constructive engagement
with people who are the end users of the police service and renegotiate the
agreement between the people and the police therefore making the community
co-producers of justice and a quality police force. The most recent attempt
made by the Nigeria police force to improve its performance was the
introduction of community policing programme in 2004. This was part of the
Nigerian Police force’s effort to change policing to a new and professional
policing capable of ensuring and maintaining proper security of lives and property
in Nigeria. Community oriented policing is a proactive measure that promotes
curbing criminal act.
Conclusively,
the police involvement in community affairs is another strong strategy that
allows the police to display themselves as both private citizens and State
agents of social control. Community policing under this programme or strategy
presents the police as servants of the society who, should in a reasonable
manner, enforce law and order and ensure public compliance with policies.
Extant studies also attest that the involvement of police in community affairs
has actually yielded fruitful results. For instance, Quinney (1974) affirmed
that when the community collaborates with police personnel in maintaining
social order, it helps the legal system also to be increasingly used in
criminal justice administration. The police are viable instrument for building
an inclusive and organised community policing in Nigeria. Police involvement in
community affairs facilitates rapid and timely control of persistence
rebellion, whether in outright political processes or behaviour that otherwise,
violates the rules of the society. Community policing also helps the State
policing actors to exercise its repressive force on the people in order to
achieve compliance with the law (see also Kelly & Clark, 2003). This
technique can be employed only in a physically and socially disorganised
community. In more disorganised areas, some experts pointed out, police use
aggressive tactics to reduce crime and ‘take back the streets’ before building
relations with community leaders (Siegel, 2008 citing Nolan, Conti &
McDevitt, 2004).
1.2 Statement of
the Problem
In spite the
efforts of various police administrations to curb crime in Nigeria, crime and
social disorder in Nigeria, it is obvious that there is still persistence of
crime in the country. Thousands of lives and millions of naira worth of
property are being lost as a result of one crime or the other. Some believed
that the inability of the Nigeria police to ensure maximum security in the
country is as a result of so many social and technical challenges ranging from
lack of necessary tools to curb crime in the community and lack of maximum
cooperation by the people in the communities ( Dawn Newspaper, 2011).
Corruption in
the Nigeria police force is fuelling abuses against ordinary citizens and
severely undermining the rule of law in Nigeria on a daily basis. Numerous
ordinary Nigerians have been accosted by countless armed police officers who
specialized at demanding bribes and committing human rights abuses against by
extorting money from them. These abuses range from ordinary arrest and unlawful
detention to threats and acts of violence, including sexual assault, torture,
and even extrajudicial killings (Human Rights Watch, 2010).
Police is not
unique. Corruption is now rampant in the Nigeria police force. Various issues
of corruption concerning the commission have been seen and reported. However,
the issue of corruption in the Nigeria police as noted above cannot be treated in
isolation of the larger society. Corruption in the police is so prevalent that
it has destroyed people’s trust and confidence they have in the police. Because
of this prevalence of corruption in Nigeria and in the force, this study then
aimed at investigating the effect of community policing on crime in Nigeria.
1.3 Research
Questions
These are some of the questions the study is designed
to answer:
i)
what is the prevalence of community policing on crime reduction in
Nigeria?
ii)
what are the factors that affect community policing in Nigeria?
iii)
what are the efforts taken by the government to ensure better community
policing in Nigeria?
1.4 Objectives
of the Study
The objective of this study was to find out the
effect of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria. The specific
objectives are:
i)
to identify the prevalence of community policing on crime reduction in
Nigeria
ii)
to determine the factors that affect community policing in Nigeria
iii)
to inquire the efforts taken by the government to ensure better
community policing in Nigeria
1.5 Significance
of the Study
A community
crime prevention effort encourages residents to know and recognize their
neighbors. It also serves as eyes and ears of the police for spotting
and reporting any unusual activity. The
significance of the study was to observe the effect of community policing on
crime prevention in Nigeria.
1.6 Scope
of the Study
This study covered respondents like the Nigeria Police, Vigilante group
and other security agents in Nigeria.
1.7 Limitation
of the study
Major problems
encountered were time constraints, validity and reliability of the sources or
materials. The researcher was faced with the problem of meeting with the
security agents like the Nigeria Police, Vigilante group, Nigeria Security and
Civil Defence Corps and the likes as they were not willing to give adequate
information needed for this research.
1.8 Definitions of
Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Community
policing: the system of allocating police officers
to particular areas so that they become familiar with the local inhabitants
Crime
Prevention: is the attempt to
reduce and deter crime and criminals. It is applied
specifically to efforts made by governments to
reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.
REFERENCES
Abdulrahaman, Y. (2007). Preface in Community Policing. Nigeria Police Force Operational
Handbook.
Human Rights Watch (2010). Police Corruption in Nigeria.
Kelly, D. H., & Clarke, E. J. (2003). Deviant
behaviour: A text-reader in the sociology of
deviance (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Okiro,M.M.(2007). Foreword
in Community Policing . Nigeria Police Force
Operational Handbook.
Qadri, S. M. A. (2005). Criminology: Problems and
perspectives (5th ed.). New Delhi:
Eastern Book Company.
Quinney, R. (1974). Critique of legal order: Crime
control in capitalist society. Boston:
Little Brown.
Siegel, L. J. (2008). Criminology: The core (3rd
ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Higher
Education.
The Dawn Newspaper (2011). Community Policing and National Security – Community
Policing in Nigeria. Thursday 27,
January.