EFFECT OF COMMUNITY POLICING ON CRIME PREVENTION IN NIGERIA

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EFFECT OF COMMUNITY POLICING ON CRIME PREVENTION IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study sought to assess the effect of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria. Specifically the study intended to identify the community policing strategies used by the Police force to reduce crime, assessing the Impact of Community Policing in reducing Crime, identifying challenges facing  Police Force in administering the Community Policing and evaluating the  effectiveness of community policing on crime prevention. A case study research  design was employed in which FCT Abuja was taken as a case study. A  total of 50 respondents was selected. The study used interview and questionnaires as  data collecting tools. This study found that the main strategies used by police force to reduce crime  includes; foot patrol, collaboration and community meetings, door-to-door visits and  public education programs. Community policing has no impact on reducing crimes as employed strategies such as Door-to-Door Visits, foot patrol, Community meetings and public education programs have no effects in addressing the crime.  Lack of training for officers on community engagement philosophy and methods,  lack of good quality information about crime provided to communities, lack  involvement in the initiative’s design, implementation, and monitoring and expanded  decision making by line officers, lack understanding co-operation, poorly planned  engagement leads to unrealistic community expectations, lack of organizational  commitment and culture change, community engagement, flexibility and tailoring at  neighborhood level are the main challenges that are faced by Police Force in  administering the Community Policing. Finally the researcher recommends community engagement to be part of core work.  Communities must participate in planning and choosing approaches as well as  becoming equal owners of the process. Both the Police Force and communities need  to have clearly defined roles and be given the skills and resources to carry it out. Partnerships to involve two-way dialogue and good quality information and feedback;  the police must value community input there is a need to adequate resources allocation  by the government for training and capacity building.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the problem

The goals of community policing are to reduce crime and disorder, promote citizens’  quality of life in communities, reduce fear of crime, and improve police–citizen relations  (Community Policing Consortium 1994). These goals are achieved through three essential efforts: community engagement, problem solving, and organizational transformation.  Community policing refers to the recognition that the police must act to encourage the  public to share responsibility for public safety, specifically by consulting with them,  adapting their operations to local conditions, mobilizing volunteers, resources and  problem solving (Bayley, 1994; Goldstein, 1990).

It is also a philosophy that promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the  causes and reduces social disorder through problem solving tactics and community police  partnerships (US Department of Justice, Office of Community oriented Policing services,  2001).Most of developing countries, Tanzania inclusive have realized that community  policing is an inevitable strategy especially in this era of globalization, where there are  great economic, technological and societal changes (Tibaigana, 2006). Tanzania Police  force through its section of community policing has put forward some implementation  procedures including the use of community police officers and neighborhood watch,  (Southern Africa Extension Unit and Community Policing Section, 2006).

Community policing involves cooperation among various stakeholders to strengthen its  expertise and expand its effectiveness. Successful police performance requires the co operation of various Police stakeholders who include Government departments, Non Governmental Organizations, organized and non-organized communities, societies and  individuals. Every police officer should work toward the promotion and sustenance of this  necessary co-operation without compromising the expected quality of his/her performance  (P.G.O. No. 1 Para 9).

Crime is identified as one of the major obstacles to development. Imbalanced/inadequately  planned development contributes to criminality and thereby constitutes a threat to good  quality life, security of life and property, democracy, good governance, rule of law and  free exercise of human rights (UN office of drugs & crime, 2005:102).

State security involves the use of the military to protect the citizens from attacks and to ensure the wellbeing of the people using economic variables (Thom-Otuya, 2017). Security can be in short or long terms depending on the overall objectives of a state and other related contingencies. Statutorily, it is the basic responsibility of the state through various government security agencies such as the Police, State Security Services, the Army, Navy, and the Airforce to maintain law and order and protect lives and property (Nwaubani, Okechukwu, Anyikwa, & Dominic, 2014). Within the context of a civil environment, the role of the Police in maintaining security cannot be over-emphasized.

Section 214(1) of the Constitution as amended establishes the Nigerian Police Force with the functions of protecting life and property as well as maintaining social order within the Nigeria state (Nweke, 2011; Njoku, 2012).

Without a doubt, security is a crucial matter which requires the cooperation and collaboration of all strategic stakeholders such as the government, security agencies, and individual citizens of the community or public at large. Indeed, of all the stakeholders, the community or public is the most crucial to effective security. This is because without the co-operation of the community or public the police may be unable to perform optimally. This calls for a police-community approach in crime detection and prevention. This cooperation is necessary because criminals are primarily members of the community and if detected early could be prevented from operating. Thus, this approach ensures that members of the community are educated on the need to provide information to the Police about crimes, criminals and how to contact the Police in emergencies (Njoku, 2012). This reinforces the need for Community Policing.

From the Nigerian Police perspective, Community-policing should promote integrity, professionalism, cooperation, and commitment which are aimed at achieving ‘quality service delivery, Police and community empowerment, accountability, problem solving and partnership’ (Nigerian Police Force, 20I7, p. 5). These values are also in agreement with the five core elements of Community Policing in South Africa. These are service orientation (provision of professional policing services responsive to community needs); partnership (facilitation of the co-operative consultative process, problem-solving): problem-solving (joint identification and analysis of the causes of crime and conflicts with corresponding innovative remedial measures); empowerment (creation of joint responsibility and capacity to address crime), accountability (culture of accountability to address community needs and concern) (Republic of South Africa, 2013). The new philosophy of policing the community places more emphasis on the community, unlike the normative view which sees the state as the guarantor of security. Therefore, this study assess the effect of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria – A case study of FCT Abuja.

1.2       Statement of the problem

Community policing remains an important program as it emphasizes proactive problem solving to prevent and otherwise control crime (Sparrow, Moore and Kennedy 1990). The goals of community policing are to reduce crime and disorder, promote citizens‟ quality of life in communities, reduce fear of crime and improve police citizen relations. Despite the introduction of Community Policing in Nigeria, crime and the cases of crime are fast becoming a serious problem to governments; as such there were debates on its effectiveness on crime reduction as there have been several cases of such throughout the nation as well as in Kaduna state in particular. The high rate of crime in Nigeria are of great  concern, highlighted profiles on major crime trends and magnitudes experienced by residents include kidnapping, Banditry, Cattle rustling, assaults, violence against women, and youths etc. Coupled with this, there is no much studies documented on effectiveness of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria.

Hence the purpose of this study is to assess the effect of community policing in crime prevention in Nigeria.

1.3       Objectives of the study

The main objective of the study was to assess the effect of community policing on  crime prevention in Nigeria.

Specifically this study intended;

1. To identify the community policing strategies used by Police force to reduce crime 
2. To assess the impact of Community Policing in reducing Crime 
3. To identify challenges encountered by the Police Force in administering the  Community Policing 

1.4       Research questions

The specific questions included;

1. What community policing strategies are used by the Police force to reduce crime?
2. What impact does community policing have in reducing Crime?
3. What challenges are encountered by the police force in administering the  community policing?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study will contribute to understanding of challenges and effective strategies that can foster for the reduction of crime in the Nigerian community. This is particular for the Police Force in Nigeria which is fully responsible for crime reduction and elimination. The study is also of great importance to researchers in areas of community policing, crimes and crime prevention as it lays down the foundation by providing adequate literature and findings on the areas. 

The study findings are great value to policy makers in Nigeria as they can help in guiding  formulation of policies and strategies to facilitate the crime reduction. Policy makers are always interested in quantifying program outcomes and thus such impact study will help future program design of police force in improving the provision of services to citizens.

The community is the major beneficiary of crime prevention initiatives. These findings  will contribute to keeping citizens well informed, involving them in ongoing planning and  implementation, soliciting their input and suggestions, and encouraging feedback in all  areas of implementation. 

Finally the whole work is a dissertation that contributes to completion of a masters degree.  The study promotes the researcher to pegging of the new body of knowledge to the  existing one as well as enabling the researcher in partial fulfillment for the requirements  for award of master in public administration.

1.6       Scope and Delimitation of the study

The study process encountered several limitations. One major limitation centers on  participation of respondents. Policing issues are sensitive hence some community members were reluctant in provision of information by fearing that they may have been caught by police force. The second major limitation related to distribution and collection of questionnaires. This consumed a lot of time than planed due to reluctance by the respondents to fill them and return them. Thirdly financial limitations particularly for following up the respondents posed a significant snag. However due to the importance of the study and the commitment laid down by the researcher for achieving this result all available means were used to get data, analyze and report them in this dissertation.

Delimitation of the study

Community policing is a broad and multifaceted concept. The researcher therefore concentrated in particular on the effect of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria. It also examined the community role and initiative in community policing. The concept of crime prevention, it strategies, its challenges and its significance also formed  part of the scope of this study.

1.7       Definition of Key Terms

Crime prevention

Crime prevention is central to the concept and ultimate goal of community policing  (Skolnick and Bayley, 2018) and will have long term benefits (Segrave and Ratcliffe,  2014). Skogan (2016) suggests community capacity to prevent crime will be strengthened  by encouraging communities to enhance community safety. Police should not take sole  responsibility for crime prevention but need to play a crucial role in developing strategies  in partnership with local communities.

Community
It is refers to a physical concentration of individuals in one locality, and/or social organization among a concentration of individuals that possess a particular quality of relationships (Warbuton 2018). 

Community policing 

The Community Policing Consortium defines community policing as “a collaborative  effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these  problems.”

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