Importance of Community Policing In Crime Reduction: Lagos Case Study

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Importance of Community Policing In Crime Reduction: Lagos Case Study

ABSTRACT

The growing rate of crime in Lagos state questions the effectiveness of Nigerian police in fighting against crime. The situation is blamed on the centralized management which is practiced in most police organizations in which the police are isolated from their serving communities. To successfully fight crime, all hands must be in desk. For this reason, the present study investigated the importance of community policing in crime reduction in Lagos state. The study was guided by four specific objectives. Questionnaire was adopted in data collection and the sample size for the study was 50 comprising police officers, civil servant, private workers, artisan and others. The sample was randomly selected across five local governments including Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Mushin, Surulere, Ikeja and Amuwo-Odofin. The data collected were descriptively analyzed using frequencies and percentages and the result of the study revealed that community policing is effective in reducing crime in Lagos state given that the share intelligent information with the police to foil planned crime attempt or to apprehend criminals. They also provide evidences to the police. This makes community partnership with the police inevitable in crime reduction. Based in the findings, conclusions were made and recommendations proposed.

INTRODUCTION

The effect of crime on the society can be grouped into economic, social, psychological and health effects. Crime is a social problem that decreases the quality of life in the society. In every society, it is the role of law enforcement agents and the police specifically to maintain law and order, as this is the main purpose for which they are recruited and trained. They are mainly charged with the duty of preventing crime and apprehending criminals (Mulugeta&Mekuriaw, 2017). In discharging their duties of preventing crime, the police are faced by certain difficulties such as the perception of the public of the police being non-committed and irresponsible, thus affecting their relationship negatively (Kasali&Odetola, 2016). Solving a crime requires the involvement of the community, without which it will be difficult for the police to successfully prevent or solve a crime. Given this challenge, and as a reaction, community policing was introduced. The rationale behind this joint work is the belief that the police alone cannot ensure and maintain safety in a community, and in this regard, the concept of community policing was developed (Mulugeta&Mekuriaw,2017).

Community policing can be described as a model of policing developed from the idea that the police and the citizens of a community can collaboratively work together creatively to prevent and solve crime related issues, in order to minimize the fear of crime, ensure safety and improve life quality in the community (Amadi, 2014).In community policing, the police formulate ways to solidify the cooperation between with community members as a means of enhancing communication and encouraging the giving out of information in order to ensure an effective problem solving activity (Amadi, 2014).

Prior to the emergence of community policing, police was perceived as professionals charged with the defense of crime and restoring order. This implies that the duty of protection and crime prevention was strictly left to the control of the police. However, with the introduction of community policing concept, the perception was changed to viewing policing as partnership with citizens in order to maintain order in the society and create a neighbourhood devoid of crime (Amadi, 2014).

Security in recent times has been redefined following the realization by government that security cannot be monopolized locally as well as globally. This realization has led to broadening the concept of security community to incorporate private participants and civilians in the management of security (Kasali&Odetola, 2016).Successful community policing is only possible with a level of trust between the police and the community. However, in Nigeria, there is an atmosphere of distrust between the public and the police, which makes the concept of community policing unrealistic and unachievable. This distrust stems from the inability of the police to share power with the civilians as they are used to receiving orders from their superiors, as well as the fact that they find it difficult to adopt another policing model different from the traditional model they have been used to for a very long time (Gbenemene&Adishi, 2017). To this end, the study examines the importance of community policing in crime reduction in Lagos state.

2 Statement of research problem

Community policing can be described as democracy in action, as it involves the active participation of private and public agencies, business leaders, residents, local government, and churches based on their common concern of the community welfare. The statistics on crime rate indicates the low impact of crime fighting on crime reduction. Furthermore, the centralized management which is practiced in most police organizations has contributed towards isolating the police from their serving communities. This segregation works to hinder the effort of the police in crime fighting. Furthermore, the police in most cases seems to be unaware of existing problems; and without a strong relationship with the community they serve, they might be denied access to important information that would have aided in prevention or deterrence of crime.Information can only flow to the police from the community when trust is established. However, the establishment of this trust is not easily achieved especially in communities prone to internal conflicts and having strained relations with the police. Community Policing is unsuccessful notwithstanding its introduction in Nigeria as the public perceives the police as corrupt and untrustworthy. The failures of community policing originate from the history of the police force which has been construed in relation to it past mistakes and building a totally new policing strategy has become difficult (Otu&Elechi, 2018). Based on the foregoing, this study examines importance of community policing in crime reduction in Lagos state.

Research objective

Generally, this study examined the importance of community policing in crime reduction in Lagos state. Specifically, the study seeks to;

1. Ascertain the influence of police-community partnership on crime reduction in lagos state

2. Investigate the challenges of implementing community policing in Lagos state.

3. Assess the attitudes of local residents and police officers towards community policing.

4. Identify the prevention strategies adopted in community policing.

Research questions

1. What is the influence of police-community partnership on crime reduction in Lagos state?

2. What are the challenges of implementing community policing in Lagos state?

3. What is the attitude of local residents and police officers towards community policing?

4. What are the prevention strategies adopted in community policing?

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