Strengthening Community Policing Culture and Practice in Nigeria for Effective Crime Prevention and Detection

Abstract

Mmanti Monday Benjamin Akpan, Friday Anietie Peters

With the growing insecurity in the country, many commentators are beginning to question the provision of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, Chapter 2, Section 14 (2)(b), which stipulates that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. In Nigeria today, virtually 50 percent of headline news relates to some form of insecurity affecting almost every part of the country. From the Boko Haram insurgencies in the North East, to Herdsmen – Farmers crisis in the middle belt, to banditry and kidnapping in the North West. From South-South region battling militant agitation, to South-East security menace of separatist agitation, kidnapping and armed robbery. Of recent is the issues of kidnapping and banditry surfacing on highways within the South West region, one would rightly say that the centralized form of Policing structure being operated in Nigeria has completely failed. Hence, agitation for institutionalising the concept of Community Policing in Nigeria. Community Policing is a concept that emphasises proactive measures – preventing the act of crime through intelligence and community participation, rather than reactive policing. It is also principled on partnership and decentralisation of powers for effective crime fighting.

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