The Interface of Formal and Informal Policing Structures in Calabar Metropolis: Implication for Community Policing In Nigeria (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Police Science , 2024
Community policing is a symbiotic and concerted effort of the police and members of the host communities to reduce the incidence of crime and criminal activities. Nigeria, as a country, has embraced the concept of community-based policing to forestall crime and criminal activities since the return of democracy in 1999. This research critically scrutinizes the ideology and beliefs of community policing in the Nigerian context, aiming to offer solutions to the major setbacks of community policing in Nigeria. A non-probability sampling technique was employed for the current study. Self-constructed questionnaires were used to acquire data. Results revealed that the community members are in constant healthy relationship with the police, but the police collaboration with the community members regarding crime control/detection is not encouraging. The effort of the police authority in crime detection and control is commendable, and the fear of crime has been declining since the initiation of community policing. Success was attributed to the constant collaboration of the police with other security agencies. The residents fully supported the concept of community policing. Still, they suggested that massive employment, funding security agencies, and organizing skill acquisition programs to engage the unemployed will greatly help in crime reduction in addition to the concept of community policing. The challenges faced by the security agencies include recruitment of unqualified personnel, insufficient crime-fighting equipment/patrol vehicles, inadequate remuneration of the security personnel, and lack of trust in the security agencies by the residents.
The Impediments to Effective Community Policing in Nigeria: A Case Study of Akwa Ibom State
Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: H Interdisciplinary , 2020
Community policing is a philosophy of full-service personalized policing, where the same officer patrols, and works in the same area permanently from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems. It is established at the bedrock of police-community partnership and communication to secure a safe environment for all and develop a longer-term solution to resolving criminal issues. The objective of this study was to assess the impediments against operative community policing in crime prevention with unusual reference to Akwa Ibom State. The theories use for this research were the democratic theory of community policing. The research adopted a Chi-Square analytical method for a statistical analysis questionnaire that was used6 for data collection from participants from 4 selected study areas-Ikot Abasi, Oron, Uyo, and Ikot Ekpene. TheImpedimentstoEffectiveCommunityPolicinginNigeriaACaseStudyofAkwaIbomState Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of:
An overview of Community Policing in Nigeria
The objective of this paper is to make an overview of community policing in Nigeria. Community policing is a philosophy that started many decades back in the United Kingdom and United States, but did not come to Nigeria until 2004. This policing strategy has been incorporated into modern policing so that the police will respond to democratic system of governance. Community policing should be welcomed not only because traditional policing has been failing because it is reactive rather than proactive, but also, the police personnel are part and parcels of the community that they serve. Three strategies make community policing quite distinct from traditional policing: community partnership, organizational transformation, and problem-solving. Looking at the prevailing insecurity in Nigeria, adherence to the principles of community policing will help the Nigeria Police Force to overcome the security challenges. The paper reviewed some of the challenges the program faced amongst the Police Force, community, as well as those emanating from the government. To overcome these challenges, the paper suggested an integrated effort from these three structures, such as reorientation programs for the police and the community, fighting corruption, and to ensure that the rule of law is obeyed by the police, community and the political leaders.
The Imperative of Community Policing in Nigeria
Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law
Across the world, the concern of governments to maintain public safety necessitated a reform for reorienting the police organisations to shift from conducting its functions through the incidence driven approach to community participation model. In Nigeria, the reactive model adopted appeared not effective in taming the internal insecurity across the country as crime upheaval is increasing daily. This paper examined the effects of community policing on police statutory functions in Nigeria. Data were collected from relevant textbooks, journals, newspapers and other official records. The data congregated were analysed through descriptive method. Espousing the broken window theory as theoretical framework, community policing is considered as a proactive crime and disorder reducing strategy as against the 'pursue and catch' reactive oriented. The paper found community policing as helpful to curbing internal security threats in Nigeria. It argued that the effectiveness of community policing is overturned by gamut of the police different operational agenda; inconsistency in policy; and resistance from some officers and rank and files. The paper recommended that the police statutory functions of curbing insecurity in Nigeria would remain a daydream without active community policing.
Role of Community-Based Organizations in Community Policing in Nigerian Society
2016
The prevalence of violence and other criminal activities in Nigeria in recent times is evident on the inability of the police alone to stem the tide of general insecurity. This necessitates community policing, which emphasizes on partnership between the police and the law-abiding members of the public to effectively prevent and control crime in the society. The study was conducted in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria. The study combined functionalism and broken windows theories as the theoretical framework. The total sample size for the study was three hundred and fifty-six people purposively selected among members of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) in Kano, staff of British Council/Department for International Development (DFID), Justice for All, Officer-in-Charge of community policing in Kano State Police Headquarters, Bompai, and officers from Police Academy, Wudil, Ward Heads, Religious Leaders, Elders, and Youth Leaders. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) ver...
Community Policing in Nigeria as Conflict Prevention and Resolution
2021
This paper focuses on community policing, a recent concept taken to as additive to law enforcement which has become everyone’s allegorical remedy for policing problems in the global system. The concept as an agenda for policing reform, has received numerous attention, having received scholarly debates in various. In Sub-Saharan African region, and most especially Nigerian state where issues of crimes and insecurity have taken different dimensions, there have been agitations and a need to get an alternative to security structure in the country. Officers of the Nigeria Police are conspicuously overwhelmed in the discharge of their fundamental duties, there is, therefore, the need for community policing to complement their efforts in the maintenance of internal security and protection of lives and property. Therefore, this study interrogates the factors aiding the surge of crimes and ineffective policing in Nigeria, and also examines the merits derivable in subscription to the communit...
The challenges of community policing in Nigeria
A community approach to the management of crimes and criminal behaviour in Nigeria is the latest in the crime fighters’ attempt to curb the menace of the rising crime rate in the country. The efficiency of this approach is, however, facing certain challenges, namely: interference of some ‘powerful’ members of society in the course of justice, inertia on the part of some corrupt police officials who want the status quo to be main- tained, financial constraints, and the unpleasant image of the police. This paper examines these challenges as well as the constraints they pose to the success of community policing in Nigeria. The author is of the opinion that for community policing to be successful in Nigeria, these chal- lenges must be addressed taking into consideration the peculiarities of the Nigerian context.
Informal security structures (ISS) have become a part of the everyday security landscape of most communities across Nigeria, due to the cluelessness of the formal police to the security challenges in the country. Some state governments have also endorsed ISS as part of their campaign against crime. In Lagos State, three broad categories of ISS are identifiable namely, state-organised, community-organised and individual house-owner/occupant employed. This study examined the perceptions of residents across four local government areas of metropolitan Lagos regarding the performance of ISS groups in community crime control. Cross-sectional survey design was used to generate quantitative data from 1,107 community members aged 18years and above while in-depth interviews and focus group discussion methods were used to generate qualitative data from members of ISS, Police personnel and community leaders. The qualitative data were content analysed while simple percentages were used to analyse the quantitative data. Informal security groups were found to play remarkable role in neighbourhood crime control; they also enjoy support despite reported excesses. It was recommended that all ISS have to be duly registered and made to operate within the law in order for the State to maximize their full crime control potentials.
Calabar Journal of Politics and Administration, 2018
This article interrogates the salient factors that hinder the effectiveness of the most desirous community policing architecture in Nigeria. Community policing is a policing philosophy that fosters proactive problem solving of all kinds of crime through cooperation of the state law enforcement agents with the members of the community. It entails preventing, analysing and combating signs and act of criminality in the community. However, in Nigeria, Community policing is faced with some existential challenges that has made its adoption and operation less effective. This article examines amongst others; police corruption, poor condition of service of the police and the lack of public cooperation, flabby incorporation of ethnic militias popularly known as vigilante, community lack of trust on police as factors militating against the success of community policing in Nigeria. This paper argues that corruption, the improper incorporation of the informal police (Vigilante) and the working conditions and poor remuneration of the Nigeria police, is the reason why community policing is less effective in Nigeria. The article concludes that when these intractable challenges are properly addressed the internal security architecture of Nigeria will be viable enough to combat all forms of crime and foster viable security, sustainable peace and development in society.
A Review on Achievements and Challenges of Community Policing in Nigeria
In every society, security of lives and properties tends to be one of the major priorities of members of the community and government. It is on this note that government in Nigeria established the Nigeria Police to ensure safety of lives and properties of individuals. Despite the efforts of the police to accomplish this responsibility, the need for incorporating community members to complement their efforts becomes pertinent. This idea of incorporating the community members into policing work is what is referred to as Community Policing. The idea has now been part and parcel of most policing works in many countries, including Nigeria. Against this background, this paper examines the achievements and challenges of community policing in Nigeria. The paper emphasized that community policing has led to the adoption of some community crime prevention efforts such as high frequency of meetings between the stake holders, community providing security reports to the police and financial assistance by the community members for a successful policing in their neighborhood. The paper concluded that inadequate support from government, lack of support from members of the public, poor welfare package/ incentive for policemen and the hostile relationship between the police and the informal policing machinery were among the challenges of community policing in Nigeria. Finally, it is recommended that the government should adequately fund the police and the community policing programmes and provide them with logistic support and infrastructure; improve the welfare of officers and men of the police; ensure proper training to enhance their efficiency and should also tackle the problem of corruption through accountability and transparency of all resources allocated to the various sectors.