The inability of the Nigerian Police to control the increasing wave of crime has led to the proliferation of community policing in many parts of the country. Thus, this thesis was designed to examine the effects of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria, with a focus on the Jos South local government area of Plateau State, Nigeria. In this study, four research objectives were derived and four research questions were asked. The target population was the youth, stakeholders and law enforcement agents in Jos South Local Government Area.
Data was obtained through the quantitative method (questionnaires), as a cluster sampling technique was adopted in the selection of respondents. 250 respondents were sampled through descriptive survey design. The research was answered using mean and standard deviation analysis (statistical package for social sciences SPSS).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
1.2 Statement of Research Problem
1.3 Research Questions
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
1.5 Significance of Study
1.6 Scope of Study
1.7 Definition of Terms
1.8 Organization of Study
CHAPTER 2
2.0: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.Introduction
2.2.Conceptual Clarifications
2.2.1.Community Policing
2.2.2 Crime Prevention
2.3.Community Policing Philosophy
2.4.Community policing legislation
2.5.Community Policing and Crime Prevention in Nigeria
2.6.Rationale for the Creation of Community Policing
2.7.The Effectiveness of Community Policing
2.8.Theoretical Framework
2.8.1 Rational Choice Theory
2.8.2 Broken Windows Theory
CHAPTER 3
3.1. METHODOLOGY
3.2. Introduction
3.3. Research Design
3.4. Target population and sampling
3.5. Sample Size
3.6. Method of Data Collection
3.7. Method of Data Analysis
3.8. Ethical considerations
CHAPTER 4
4.0: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
4.1. Introduction
4.1.1. Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
4.2. Discussion of findings
CHAPTER 5
5.1. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.2. Summary of Major Findings
5.3. Conclusion
5.4. Recommendations
REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My acknowledgment goes to God most high who has seen me through this year in school, He alone deserves the praise. To my supervisor Dr H.M. Lawal, who has become more than a supervisor to me, your constant criticisms and advice have sharpened this work and has given me a better understanding of research. Thank you very much, sir.
I also express my deep appreciation to Mrs Bilkisu Aminu, Sani Abdullahi, Musa Abba, Sani Garba, and other staff of the department and the University at large, who have set my foot on the right path, realizing the significance of education, may God bless you.
My special gratitude goes to my husband, Barr. Jinaka Iliya, my son, Jadon Jinaka and the rest of my family members, for their support, sacrifices and for believing in me. I wouldn’t have achieved this without them by my side; I love you all, because you guys are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You have been wonderful and great. My immense gratitude goes to all my friends and course mates. I say thank you very much for making this journey worthwhile.
ABSTRACT
The inability of the Nigerian Police to control the increasing wave of crime has led to the proliferation of community policing in many parts of the country. Thus, this thesis was designed to examine the effects of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria, with a focus on the Jos South local government area of Plateau State, Nigeria. In this study, four research objectives were derived and four research questions were asked. The target population was the youth, stakeholders and law enforcement agents in Jos South Local Government Area. Data was obtained through the quantitative method (questionnaires), as a cluster sampling technique was adopted in the selection of respondents. Two Hundred and Fifty (250) respondents were sampled through descriptive survey design. The research was answered using mean and standard deviation analysis (statistical package for social sciences SPSS). The findings revealed that the Nigeria Police are ineffective and community policing in its current form sprang up to make up for this ineffectiveness. It also revealed that community policing outfits are gaining prominence as agents of crime control in contemporary Nigeria, particularly in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. The result equally revealed that vigilante group members are recruited and monitored through their communities and that they are effective in crime prevention. Also, the result indicated that the best way of solving the problem of crime in Nigeria is by increasing the activities of Community Policing Outfits. However, lack of firearms, poor funding, and lack of patrol vehicles are the major problems confronting Community Policing. More so, based on the major findings, it was recommended that Community Policing outfits should operate within the framework of the law. Finally, security committees should be established at the local government level and these committees should meet periodically to discuss security matters in their areas.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Criminality, though a negative phenomenon is a necessary part of every society (Duromi, 2020), it is a social product, determined by social conditions that are capable of being controlled only in social terms. All societies have crime and deviance; sociologists generally agree that there is no such thing as a crime-free society (McLane, 2020). However, even as every society has crime existing in it as a necessary component of its entire constitution, it is never a welcomed appeal to most of the members of the society, hence, the great effort being made in every society in every epoch in combating crime (Bram, 2020).
The provision of adequate security is a social prerequisite for the survival of any society; every society takes appropriate measures to protect the lives and property of people living within its boundaries (Afuyeh, 2022). Business and social activities may not go on freely without adequate security. This fundamental essence of security may be the reason why societies from time immemorial made efforts to police their neighbourhoods in order to secure them from criminal victimization (Faye, 2020).
Security has to do with the act of preventing and protecting in order to ensure that certain facilities, equipment, persons or activities are safe from damage, pilferage, destruction, murder or disruption (Alim, 2022). According to Wikipedia contributors, (2022, December 18), community policing, or community-oriented policing, on the other hand, is a strategy of policing that focuses on developing relationships with community members. By description, community policing is seen as that part of the citizens’ security initiative, influenced by incessant criminal activities which undermine the safety of lives and properties in the community (Francis, 2020). It is organized along the traditional and cultural age group system which is strongly reinforced by the authority of the traditional ruler and elders of the community (Bidemi, 2018).
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent anarchy that followed, kings began to assume the responsibility for legal administration by strengthening the night watch, (Kuykendall, 2018) pointed out that in the twelfth century in England, through the Frankpledge system which was based on an organization of tithing’s (ten families) and hundreds (ten tithing’s), men over the age of fifteen formed a (posse comitatus), a group called out to pursue fleeing felons. Thus, the sheriffs who ensured that this Frankpledge system worked were responsible for policing the country.
However, as societies became increasingly complex, social life was disrupted. Existing systems of law enforcement were inadequate to respond to the problems associated with these changes. As a result, a night watch system was introduced (Faye, 2020). In South Africa, community policing activity is frequently justified as filling a policing gap due to police inefficiency, corruption and conspiracy with criminals, and practical failure in the criminal justice system (Bushra, 2018). In Sierra Leone, community policing activities have been explained in terms of police ineffectiveness in combating crimes (Bridget, 2020).
In Nigeria, community policing existed in the pre-colonial era. Adekami (2018) noted that self-defence groups currently operating in Nigerian communities have roots that reach deep into the country’s history. During the pre-colonial era, strategies employed at combating and preventing crime and deviance fell within the ambience of certain indigenous social institutions and groups (Ali, 2020). For instance, in pre-colonial Igbo society, prevention of crime was primarily the social obligation of the entire citizenry at various capacities ranging from grown-up members of kindred to the members of various age grades who were fit and agile (Obiora, 2020). However, this system of crime control was distorted with the advent of colonialism.
According to Onyema (2019), with the advent of colonialism came the distortion of the traditional institutions and values which had from time immemorial sustained harmonious relationships, peace, and security of lives and property in the pre-colonial African communities. Thus, the British colonial government in Nigeria established the formal police for the purpose of ensuring security in the country.
Alex (2018) asserted that the police existed primarily to promote harmony and security of lives and property in society and whether or not these functions were realized in the colonial era is strongly disputed. Many scholars believe that in the colonial era, the style and principles of policing were anti-people. It was rather meant to serve and protect the interests of the colonial masters (Chukwuma, 2018). They further argued that the police in the colonial era operated under the philosophy of strangers policing strangers.
In the post-colonial era, the style of policing was carried over from the colonial epoch, this was evident in the style of law enforcement used by the post-colonial police, in the daily discharge of their duties (Duromi, 2020).
As maintained by Rotimi (2018), the post-colonial Nigerian Police also served the interests of their financiers who held the position of power and nothing better could be expected from them, since he who pays the piper dictates the tune. Hence, the operations of the police force have been plagued with inefficiency and loss of public confidence in the police force (Ali, 2020).
Chukwuma (2018) noted that as a result of police inefficiency and ineffectiveness in crime prevention and control, detection and apprehension of criminals, poor rule of law records, the violation of human rights, lack of accountability, incivility and wide-scale corruption, the public holds the police in low esteem and is fearful of their brutality, extortion and ineffectiveness.
The public loss of trust and confidence in the police and in the state, in the face of an unrelenting upsurge in violent crimes in society, led to the advent and formation of informal policing strategies, otherwise known as community policing or neighbourhood watch (Williams, 2019). Although, crime prevention is an action or actions taken to stop criminal activities from happening or occurring in society (Bintuh, 2020). It refers to methods taken by the government to reduce crime in a society (Favour, 2020), for instance, a theory of criminal justice places emphasis on reducing crime in society through increased efforts of the police prosecutorial. According to Lawal (2020), community policing is a form of informal non-state policing that can be found in many African societies. In Nigeria, the existence of community policing has become increasingly ubiquitous, particularly in urban communities. While community policing has been integrated into the official state security system in some southern and northern states, this is not the case everywhere (Lawal, 2020). In other words, both crime prevention and control entail a plethora of efforts made by governments or non-government actors to reduce crime (Fedien, 2021), by using strategies and available resources at their disposal.
Historically, the provision of security or prevention of crime was chiefly a concern of each family and community among the Nigerian people (Bintuh, 2020). With modern governance, constituted authorities took over the function of security provision; personal or family efforts could only be seen in the areas of surveillance, erection of fences, burglary-proof doors, and iron bars, among others (Obinna, 2020). The outcome of ineffectiveness spelt out by Nwadiora (2022) led the citizenry to adopt self-help measures or take law into their own hands. There seems to be a nexus between war and crime, this is because there were reports that the wave of crime in Nigeria increased shortly after the civil war of 1967-1970. Studies also confirmed this assertion that the immediate period after the civil war was characterized by various crimes such as a rising number of armed robbery and burglary cases; and these were little known before the war (Tama et al., 2020). In a similar view, a study conducted by Duromi (2020) showed that the wave of crime began to increase after the Ife-Modakeke crisis in 2000. The crisis contributed significantly to the breakdown of law and order, the disintegration of family values, increased unemployment among youths, poverty among citizens and the proliferation of small arms. Thus, criminal activities seem to be more rampant in Ile-Ife due to the existence of adjacent rural areas and many roads leading to the town (Abel, 2020). These make it easier for hoodlums to invade the town from the neighbourhoods, and escape through the routes or ways from the metropolitan.
Presently, the police seem to be incapable of controlling and curtailing the criminal activities in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State (Salom, Lawrence et al., 2021). Despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies in tackling crime, the rate of armed robbery, political assassinations, ethnoreligious killings, kidnapping and other violent crimes in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State remained extremely high (Salom, Lawrence et al., 2021).
The response of government at the Federal and State levels to the rise in criminality and civil disorder has remained Adhoc and comes in the form of increasing policing capacity, the militarization of law enforcement, and the enactment of anti-crime enabling laws (Ali, 2020).
The public dissatisfaction with the response of government agencies in dealing with the increasing wave of crime and disorder has induced many communities to deeply rely on self-help measures or supporting strategies for the protection of life and security of properties within respective neighbourhoods. This has led to the establishment of bodies that break the monopoly of prevention and control of crime by the State.
This is also true in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State where community policing was used as a means of both social and crime control before the advent of colonial rule (Lawal, 2020). The proliferation of community policing in contemporary Nigeria, particularly in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State is a response to crimes and criminality that have not only increased in degree, scope and volume but also have witnessed an unprecedented change in techniques, mode of operation and sophistication between 2011 to 2022 (Afuyeh, 2022) and the apparent failure of the Nigeria police to rise up to the occasion.
1.2 Statement of Research Problem
In recent years, many communities in Nigeria have witnessed crimes of various descriptions. Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State is not an exception. Thus, crime is becoming a serious problem in contemporary Nigeria (Kawuwa, 2022), and the police who are the primary agents in the fight against crime has become quite overwhelmed and ineffective in carrying out this responsibility.
Although, in Jos South, community policing was initially not a part of the official state security system, nor were they officially approved by the state government, yet, in many communities, where people feel or are actually threatened by high levels of criminal violence, community policing increasingly assumes the role of the state police (Salom, Lawrence et al., 2021).
In 2022, the Plateau State Government, in its drive for the implementation of the community policing initiative in the state, inaugurated the State Community Policing Advisory Committee saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the community and its residents are involved in security affairs with more emphasis on intelligence and information gathering (Online, T. 2020, May 22). Thus, they not only patrol the communities during the night but also deploy physical coercion against citizens to ensure compliance with the norms of the community (Olaniyi, 2022). However, these norms of the community are not necessarily the same as the norms upon which the entire country is built. At the inception of community policing in Jos South, before the formalisation of the initiative, they employed an Adhoc or local mechanism of policing with the use of rudimentary weapons such as cutlasses, machetes, as well as bows and arrows and they barely benefited financially from the work as it was largely regarded as community service. As the population of the community grew, the pattern of crime became more complex and violent, however, it became increasingly difficult for community policing to effectively fight crime using these local mechanisms. Community policing nevertheless increased in size and members were paid monthly stipends (Salom, Lawrence et al., 2021). The increase in crime wave and the inability of the Nigerian police to deal with the situation effectively has given rise to the emergence of community policing in its current form. These groups are to ensure the safety of both their lives and property, that of their families and other members of the community. Thus, community policing seems to be gaining more prominence as agents of crime control in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. Residents see it as an outfit they can always rely on in terms of security due to the scepticism about the ability of the Nigeria Police to provide adequate security services alone without the involvement of the public. Many empirical studies have been taken to elicit the effects of crime, but none of these studies dwelt on the effects of community policing.
However, this current study is set to cover this gap. It is in this light that, this study is designed to examine the effects of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Questions
In order to carry out the investigations of the problem of the study, the researcher sought answers to the following research questions:
1. To what extent was community policing formed in Jos South Local Government Area?
2. What are the effects of community policing in Jos South Local Government Area?
3. What are the factors responsible for crime in Jos South Local Government Area?
4. What are the functions of community policing in Jos South Local Government Area?
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The broad aim of this study is to examine the effects of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria, with reference to Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are:
1. To determine why community policing in Jos South Local Government Area is formed.
2. To examine the effects of community policing in Jos South Local Government Area.
3. To identify the factors responsible for crime in Jos South Local Government Area.
4. To identify the functions of community policing in Jos South Local Government Area
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study has both theoretical and practical significance. From the theoretical point of view, this study will add to the existing literature on community policing. It will also build up a database upon which future research can be based or serve as a point of reference for similar studies.
From the practical point of view, this study will show the security gap created in both rural and urban communities and how community policing has tended to make up for this vacuum which hopefully should stimulate the interest of the government in providing adequate security services in both rural and urban communities, improve, modify and assist the existing community policing outfit to compliment security efforts of the police. It is worthy of note that, this study will be of great benefit to law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders in their quest for police reform.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this research covers the effects of community policing on crime prevention in Nigeria. However, the study would be limited to Bukuru, Kuru and Zawan A, district wards of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. This is also to provide the researcher, access to sample a particular target population to ensure meaningful work.
The researcher's primary interest is to identify the factors responsible for crime and how community policing tends to fill this vacuum in Jos South Local Government Area. The study would cover the time frame of 2018 to 2022.
1.7 Definition of Terms
For the fact that without a common understanding of essential terms and concepts, the value of the research may be lost through misunderstanding and misinterpretation and for the purpose of this research, the definition of terms as used are as stated below:
Colonialism: This refers to the period of British rule in Nigeria.
Community policing: This is a strategy involving the police and the community, aimed at solving problems of crime, fear of crime, and physical and social disorder.
Contemporary Nigeria: This refers to present-day Nigeria.
Crime: This means any act or omission that violates the criminal law of the state, which is punishable by the state after prosecution and conviction.
Crime prevention: Often used interchangeably with crime control refers to all efforts made to ensure that crime does not occur or is reduced to the barest minimum.
Criminal Justice System: This refers to state agencies that fight against crime. They are the police, court, prison, probation and parole services.
Police: This refers to the branch of the Criminal Justice System that fights against crime and maintains law and order.
Policing: Any effort aimed at detecting and preventing crime as well as protecting the lives and properties of the citizens. It can be done formally by state agents or informally by private citizens.
Social control: This refers to efforts made to ensure that people’s behaviour conforms to established norms and customs of society.
1.8 Organization of the Study
The study would be organized according to chapters, with sub-headings in each chapter. The chapters are numbered one to five as follows: The first chapter will elaborate the introduction comprising the background of the study, the problem statement, research objectives and questions, significance of the study, scope, and limitation of the study, definition of terms and organization of the study. The second chapter will seek to review the related pieces of literature of this study, which have been authored by other researchers. Specifically, it will comprise the conceptual framework, the theoretical framework and the empirical review, each containing subheadings. Chapter three will show the methodology used in the study. This includes; the research design, location of the study area, the population of the study, sample size and sampling technique, methods of data collection, research instrument, method of data analysis as well as ethical considerations. Similarly, the fourth chapter will seek to present and analyze the data collected through the administration of questionnaires. The chapter would also discuss the major findings of the study. The last chapter will drive conclusions, proffer recommendations, outline delimitations of the study and suggest areas for further studies based on the delimitation of the study.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1. Introduction
This chapter is centred on the review of related literature on the effectiveness of community policing. It also came out with a theoretical framework that explains community policing. The literature review and the theoretical framework are reviewed in tandem with the objectives of the study. Primarily, the section would include the concept of community policing, crime prevention, the origin of community policing, community policing and the law. The literature further discusses the rationale for the creation of community policing, the effects of community policing, factors responsible for crime and the mode of operation in community policing. Also, the study adopted the rational choice, routine activity and Broken window theories to provide theoretical orientation to the study.
2.2. Conceptual Clarifications
2.2.1. Community Policing
The involvement of private individuals in law enforcement processes in Nigeria has generated different reactions from different scholars. Policing and crime prevention are inseparable (Judith, 2020). The essence of policing is to prevent or control crime (Afuyeh, 2022). Policing is all about ensuring the security of people who reside within a particular geographical location with a common interest of protecting their lives and property and who have identified that certain acts are reprehensible to community well-being (Dembo, 2019). Every society has rules and regulations that guide the conduct of individuals. Violation of these rules calls for punishment or sanction by society. Thus, the need to enforce the rules and regulations in society gave rise to the police. According to Roberg (2020), the history of police is the history of rule enforcement in a society, more particularly, the history of enforcement of those rules related to criminal behaviour. The history of policing began with informal policing in which all members of a community were responsible for maintaining order. In other words, policing from the beginning of human history was carried out by private individuals, groups, associations and organizations in the private sector (Audu, 2020).
Community policing is identified as one category of informal policing (Faye, 2020). However, as societies became more complex, these informal methods were not effective due to the increased division of labour, a more heterogeneous population and a lack of social solidarity. This led to a transitional type of policing like the watch system, which existed in England and Colonial America (Abuchi, 2018). Because of the inability of the watch system to maintain law and prevent crime, modern types of policing emerged. Hence, the first modern police force, the metropolitan police of London was founded in London in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel (Abayomi, 2020). Before the onset of colonization by the British in 1862, African policing methods were rooted in the community and closely interlinked with social and religious structures. Through these diffuse systems of crime control, law and order were maintained, largely without the use of violence. Policing in Nigeria before the advent of colonialism was necessarily informal. Age grades, masquerades, extended family, secret cults and other local organizations including community policing were used in policing various communities in Nigeria. The advent of British Colonial rule marked the beginning of formal policing in Nigeria (Bidemi, 2018).
The Nigerian police force was finally founded in 1930 after undergoing many stages of transformation (Jaromi, 2020). It is important to note that the primary purpose of policing during this period was to promote the economic and political interests of the colonial masters. Daud (2021) opined that community policing is both a philosophy and organizational strategy to allow community residents and police to work together in new ways to solve problems of crime, fear of crime, physical and social disorder and neighbourhood decay. It is a policy and a strategy aimed at achieving more effective (Nwadiora, 2022) and efficient crime control, reduced fear of crime, improved quality of life, improved police services and police legitimacy, through a proactive reliance on community resources that seek to change crime causing conditions. Community policing in the view of Fedien (2021) is a modern policing strategy which allows the police to proactively act beyond mere crime fighting to partner with community members in setting the security priorities in society and fashioning ways of resolving identified problems in the community. It is a management strategy that promotes the joint responsibility of citizens and the police for community safety, through working partnerships and interpersonal contact (Obiora, 2020). Community policing is an authorized body which in the absence or inefficiency of regular government exercises the power of arrest, punishment etc (Dumke, 2020).
Community policing is a term used by both professionals and scholars to replace other terms such as foot patrol, crime prevention, problem-oriented policing, police-community relations and more (Ali, 2020). Community policing is a police strategy or philosophy based on the notion that community interactions and support can help prevent crime and reduce fear with community members helping to identify suspects, detain vandals and bring problems to the attention of the police. In other words, it is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques which proactively address the conditions that gave rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder and fear of crime (Kelvin, 2019).
Onyema (2019) affirms that many communities have resorted to self-help through the establishment of community policing, whose operational modes isolated the police and violated legal precedents. Business and social activities may not go on freely without adequate security. This fundamental essence of security may be the reason why societies from time immemorial made efforts to police their neighbourhoods to secure them from criminal victimization. Bello (2019) states that security has to do with the act of preventing and protecting to ensure that certain facilities, equipment, persons or activities are safe from damage, destruction, murder or disruption.
He further affirms that many people are dispossessed of their valuable property and others are killed or maimed for life by armed bandits. People hardly sleep at night for fear of criminal victimization, and those who sleep do so at their peril (Bello, 2019). Community policing flourishes not only in places where states cannot protect citizens from crime but also where the state is believed to be corrupt or untrustworthy (Ogbozor, 2020). This is a clear indication that the police alone cannot prevent crime without public support therefore crime prevention is a collective responsibility.
Amobi (2019) defines community policing as a strategy initiated by people to avenge a crime by taking the law into their hands. It is civilian initiation aimed at preventing the occurrence of crime in communities without legal authority (McLane, 2020). Eugene (2018) argues that community policing appears to be a cheap form of law enforcement when the state withdraws from security provision or outsourced security services, it leaves behind a security vacuum.
2.2.2 Crime Prevention
The phenomenon of crime prevention has been a pattern of attitudes and behaviours directed both at reducing the threat of crime and enhancing the sense of safety and security to positively influence the quality of life and to develop an environment where crime cannot flourish (Dembo, 2019). It is a truism that one of the objectives of the police organization is crime prevention. It is also a truism that efficient policing depends on public cooperation and support.
It is however sad to note that this cooperation and support from the public may be far from being achieved. Police brutality, corruption and criminality in the system have made worst the relationship existing between the police and the public (Nelson, 2019). Talking about the relationship between the police and the public, Agbo (2019) noted that, the police subject chicanos to unduly harsh treatment, including harassment and frequent arrests on insufficient grounds for investigation.
2.2.3 Community Policing Philosophy
The discovery of the mechanism for crime prevention and control in any human society can be traced far back centuries. Traditionally, the maintenance of law and order in any society is usually the exclusive role of traditional rulers or family affairs (Ikuteyijo and Rotimi, 2012). Later gradually move from the hands of traditional or family to conventional policing where the mechanism for prevention and control of crime is vastly in the hand of police and other law enforcement agencies. The movement from conventional policing to community-oriented policing has gained momentum in recent years as police and community leaders search for more effective ways to promote public safety and security. This has enhanced the greater deal of policing in the whole world. The roots of community-oriented policing come from the history of Modern law enforcement which began in England with the formation of the London Metropolitan Police District in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. The new police force was created to address the soaring crime rates in Great Britain’s capital. Peel, the first chief of the police force, is credited with developing several innovations that are still practised today. They stressed the importance of controlling minor crimes and disorders in an effort to curb more serious crimes. (Braiden, 1992 cited in U.S Bureau of Justice Assistance 1994). Making residents feel safer and improving their quality of life should be the goal of the police. This idea sparked the development of a number of different police strategies and tactics designed to improve police-community relations.
The philosophy of community-oriented policing is built upon the premise that reducing citizens' fear of crime while forming a partnership between the police and the community is a worthwhile goal of police organization (Siegel, 1992). Community policing is a type of policing that has the police working with members of the community and having the community take a more active role in crime control and prevention.
Community policing also differs from the traditional type of policing because instead of the traditional method of crime control community-oriented policing seeks to have members of the police force focusing on major crimes while the community will take care of the smaller ones. Then the theory that if you stop minor crimes from occurring could possibly lead to a decrease in major crimes, and that would be one of the benefits of having community policing (Ikuteyijo and Rotimi, 2012).
Community policing philosophy has been rapidly spreading worldwide as a result of a shift in emphasis from traditional policing, which is directed towards deterring crime and apprehending suspects, to one that is focused on police-community partnership in solving the problem of crime in society. This idea started in the United States in the early 1970s when it was found that individuals and neighbourhood groups were capable of contributing to their own security. This period witnessed such programmes as, neighbourhood watch, home security, personal safety training et cetera. In his own view, Ugwuoke (2015) maintained that the modern idea of community policing first developed in America and Europe at the dawn of the 1980s when it was increasingly realized that the best way to ensure a comparatively crime-free society was to establish a joint co-operation between a professional police service and a responsible public. Although the modern idea of community policing is recent in Nigeria, the original philosophy i,s however, not a recent development.
Except as a modern concept, community policing has been an old practice within the traditional Nigerian communities in which the prevention and control of criminal behaviour were matters best handled by the kinship and the extended family system. In those periods, respect for community elders, its ancestors and the adherence to its religious virtues were solidified by the structure of communal solidarity. There was collective responsibility in which “the family (or entire community) is collectively responsible for the conduct of its members to outsiders and each member of the family is responsible for his own conduct within the family (Dambazau, 1994). In other words, the communities through the elders, ancestors, and religious deities policed themselves with the synergy of the Neighbourhood Watch/Vigilante groups.
Thus, Chukwuma (in Ugwoke, 2015) observed that before the advent of British colonial rule, the various ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria had some form of community-based policing. Earlier on, (Rotimi, 2001) noted that in pre-colonial Nigeria, there were organizations of the body of men that played the role of policing various communities. Rotimi observed that in the Yoruba kingdoms, the Ilare, the Eniese and the Oguren represented in the eyes of the populace, the symbol of legitimate force that not only apprehended and arrested criminals, but also executed the commands of justice. Among the Northern Emirates of Zaria and Kano, Rotimi also observed that there was the Dogari, a body of men drawn from the class of palace slaves whose duties among others included those of arresting and disciplining offenders and guarding the various communities. In Igbo ethnic group, according to Ngwu (2014), the various age-grade from the age of 18-30 also form themselves into Neighbourhood Watch/Vigilante groups to perform similar functions as mentioned above.
The current initiative of community policing in Nigeria appears to be that of the Nigeria police as part of their “eight-point strategy for combating crime” (Sunday Sun, Lagos, August 1, 2004, p.2) and later expanded to a ten-point programme of action. This could be viewed as an attempt by the police to regain public confidence, mend fences, and make the Nigerian public a partner in crime prevention and control.
Chukwuma (2004) observed that community-policing in Nigeria received legislative backing only in 2004 following a keynote address delivered at an interactive forum on the review of the Police Act organized by the National House of Representative Committee on Police Affairs in collaboration with the Foundation for the Centre for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria (CLEEN) (2005) and the Open Society-Justice/ Initiative (Chukwuma, 2004). Also, the former speaker of the National House of Representatives, Alhaji Bello Musari had in the address observed that as a result of the worldwide acceptability, the concept of Community-Policing has received in recent years, the National Assembly has no option in granting it a legislative backing.
From the foregoing, according to Ugwuoke (2015), it has become obvious that although community policing has acquired a plethora of definitions, it is essentially concerned with the delivery of police service through community-police cooperation with emphasis on the identification and careful solution of social issues that have a direct bearing on the security of the society. The conceptual analysis of community policing, therefore, recognizes the importance of incorporating a professional police service with the efforts of a responsible public as the most effective strategy for a comparatively crime-free society. The conceptual foundations of community policing range from a nostalgic image of the police and of communities to management strategies to visions of communities strong enough to police themselves.
In Nigeria, the realisation of the police that it cannot only effectively carry out its role but must partner with others who share a mutual responsibility of resolving problems led to the establishment of community policing. Community policing is a value-free system which permits a police department to work cooperatively with individual citizens, and both public and private organizations to identify and resolve issues which potentially affect the livability of specific neighbourhood area, or the city as a whole (Okeke 2006). In Plateau State generally, however, the practice of community policing did not change a stand it is the application that varies, the introduction of ‘Yankomiti’ (group of young youth for crime reduction) and the full involvement of Vigilante groups for identifying and apprehension of criminals within the community in Plateau State.
Crime is one of the major social problems facing Nigeria today. The manifestation of this is evident in that no day passes without the national dailies carrying reports of one form of crime or the other, ranging from murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, child sexual abuse, political assassination, kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, oil pipeline explosion/bunkering by the militant groups, Boko Haramism, cybercrimes, child trafficking, et.cetera. For example, reports abound of armed robbers using dynamites and hand grenades to blow up the doors of bullion vans conveying money with a full police escort or using rocket-propelled grenades to attack helicopters. Similarly, kidnapping which used to be a localized problem in some communities in Nigeria has assumed a national character, now, targeting the rich and the powerful who are now living in grave fear and uncertainty.
As a response to the security challenges in the country, many communities and neighbourhoods, governments, et.cetera, have made increasing recourse, to formal and informal security providers, such as community policing, Community Based Security/Neighbourhood Watch/Vigilante group structures to improve their safety and security conditions. Reports indicate that as high as 50% of Nigerians patronize the services of these community-based security operatives for their protection from criminal attacks (Alemika and Chukwuma, 2005).
Some of the states in Nigeria, particularly, the Enugu State government have openly endorsed armed vigilante groups as part of their campaign against crime (Amnesty International, 2011). Recently, the Governor of Plateau state was reported to have encouraged various communities in the state to organize Neighbourhood watch/vigilante groups in light of the frequent invasion of these communities by extremists. Also, in Lagos State, three forms of formal, Community- Based or informal security groups with distinct structures and modus operandi are identifiable. These are (a) state-organized, (b) those that are collective initiatives of the community members through their leaders, and (c) those that are engaged by individual house owners and/or residents; yet, crime rates have not abated. It is against this backdrop that the delivery of safety and security is considered a justifiable public service to be provided by the joint efforts of the communities and state (Lubuva, 2004).
2.2.4 Community policing legislation
Community policing as a strategy to prevent crime is implied and enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria Act 1 of 1999, which enjoined local government to:
-Provide security and protection to all communities,
-Ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner,
-Determine and establish strategies to prevent crime within communities,
-Promote communication and maintain good cooperation between police and the community in the fight against crime, and
-Promote and strengthen relationships between police and the community.
Effective community policing requires the improvement of the delivery of service to the community by the police officers. Community policing should consider the compilation of a list of all administrative rules and practices as well as other factors that may influence the delivery of service to community members. The Constitution of most countries clearly expresses that there would be no discrimination during the policing process in terms of race, gender, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture or language. The Constitution further indicates that community policing should be the responsibility that should be shared by all the country's citizens, irrespective of their position or affiliation in society. Community policing should be well coordinated in partnership with the Namibian police force. To achieve maximum success in community policing, police and community members should constantly meet in meetings and forums to discuss issues that may hamper safety and security which may require resolutions. Criminal activities and suspects of crime should be identified by all the people of a country who are serious about community policing so that crime can be reduced in a consolidated effort by both police and community members.
In order to understand the community policing concept, one should realize that the responsibility of the police officer becomes that of a peace officer rather than that of a law enforcement officer involved only in crime reduction. Police officials are called upon to enforce the law when it appears not to be respected, to prevent crime, to ensure the maintenance of public order, to resolve conflicts among community members, to improve and promote police-community relations and render necessary services and assistance to the public, it is evident that a police officer requires a wide range of knowledge and skills. Community policing should involve a proactive style approach for better policing. The focus of the police is extended from a reactive focus on serious crime and a consequent over-emphasis of law enforcement to a proactive focus on the prevention of crime, the resolution of community problems and addressing the causes of crime and disorder. Community policing therefore constitutes a smart policing that mobilizes community members to act against crime, as it utilizes all the resources available to fight against crime, it addresses the causes of crime and disorder in partnership with the community and it activates the community as a source of assistance and information (Faull & Rose, 2012).
[...]
- Citar trabajo
- Julna Jinaka Iliya (Autor), 2023, The Effects of Community Policing on Crime Prevention in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1358826
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