International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 11 Number 3

The challenges of community policing in Nigeria

Lanre Olusegun Ikuteyijo
Sociology and Anthropology Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Tel: +234 8055047299; email: ikuteyijo@yahoo.co.uk

Received 2 July 2008; accepted 1 November 2008 Keywords: community policing, vigilante, challenges, Nigeria, reform

Lanre Ikuteyijo is a Lecturer in the department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He specialises in criminology and the criminal justice system. He also has interests in other areas including migration, urbanisation and social research methods. He is currently working on his PhD programme in criminology at the same university.

ABSTRACT

A community approach to the management of crimes and criminal behaviour in Nigeria is the latest in the crime ghters attempt to curb the menace of the rising crime rate in the country. The efciency 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 ofcials who want the status quo to be maintained, nancial 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 challenges must be addressed taking into consideration the peculiarities of the Nigerian context.
INTRODUCTION

The role of the police in many societies cannot be overemphasised. They are

responsible for the maintenance of law and order in society and also help in the implementation of government policies. In Nigeria, successive regimes have made several attempts at reforming the police to reect contemporary police ideologies. A situation whereby the police stand aloof from other members of the society and are treated like unwanted strangers is no longer tolerable in most societies where community policing is practised. Nigeria, being a part of the global village, cannot afford to be indifferent to the paradigm shift in policing taking place around the globe. In recent times, the Nigerian police have indicated willingness to embrace the concept of community policing as preached by more developed nations like Britain and America. Many ofcers have been trained, while others are being trained locally and outside the country on the precepts of community policing. However, there are certain challenges facing the applicability of community policing in Nigeria. One of these challenges is the changing security value in most communities. Most of these values are concomitants of changing neighbourhood values arising from the public perception of the police. There cannot be a better time for the Nigerian police to adopt a community approach to policing than in a period when they are losing the needed

International Journal of Police Science and Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, 2009, pp. 285293. DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2009.11.3.130

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trust and condence of members of the public. Alemika and Chukwuma (2000) observe that major segments of the Nigerian population portray the police in negative terms. The Nigerian media make the matter worse as they publish any derogatory information about the police with great enthusiasm. This may occur out of the simple fact that the police, which the constitution bestows with the responsibility of maintaining law and order, are expected to be above board. The police authorities have made a series of publicity attempts aimed at cleaning up their image and changing the public (mis)perception but in most cases to no avail. Community policing is an approach which can make the public see police ofcers as integral parts of society and as such not to be alienated. This is essential to make policing more effective and efcient. This paper therefore examines the applicability of the concept of community policing in Nigeria and the challenges facing it; the possibility of a working relationship between police and ethnic militias as well as recommendations on how to make the concept of community policing more rewarding in the country.
POLICECOMMUNITY RELATIONS

The constitutional roles of the police include protection of life and property; maintenance of law and order and so on. Ironically, the police are often enmeshed in a series of conicts with the citizens they are meant to protect. The explanations for this according to scholars vary from highhandedness on the part of the police to an uncooperative and antagonistic attitude of the public to the police. White, Cox and Basehart (1991) observe that police culture abounds with perceptions of the public as uncooperative, unsupportive, and antagonistic towards the police. As a result of the distrust and suspicion characterising the publics perception of the

police, the effectiveness and efciency of the police in the prevention and combating of crime becomes threatened. This suspicion is not ideal for society as Alemika and Chukwuma (2000) observe that the citizens involvement in policing, which encompasses reporting crimes in progress, giving witness statements, assisting police in solving crimes and so on, is ineffective as a result of the communication gap existing between the police and the public. The communication gap between the police and the community is so wide that members of the public are often reluctant to report crimes to the police, or stand as witnesses in courts, as they believe that the police will not protect them in the event of any reprisal from the criminals or their cohorts. Some members of the public are even of the opinion that the purported concept of anonymity of anyone reporting a crime to the police is illusive, as ones identity will often be given away to the criminals or their cohorts, who will thereafter unleash terror on the reporter. The News magazine (20th August 2001) reported that when people gave them [police] information about robbers, they turned back and divulged the source of that information to the same robbers (for a price). The robbers would then visit the informant.
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF POLICE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS Police versus community: friends or foes?

Answering the question as to whether the police are a friend or a foe, requires a look at two prominent schools of thought in sociology. These are the conict and the consensus perspectives or theories. These theories, though contrasting in their views of society, portray the picture of police community relations as two sides of the

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same coin. The conict perspective in sociology begins with the assumption that society is divided into strata and classes, with common interests in some areas and conicting interests in many fundamental areas. The areas where conict arises include the organisation, mobilisation and allocation of economic and political resources. This is predicated on two basic reasons, with one leading to the other; the rst, scarcity of resources leads to the second, disparities in terms of access to these resources. As a result of the inequality in access to societal resources, those who have access will want the status quo to remain, while those who do not have access to societal resources will want a change in the structure and this is the basis of conict in society. Conict perspective therefore argued that the police were not created to serve society or the people but to serve some parts of society and some people at the expense of others (Alemika & Chukwuma, 2000). Conict theorists opined that the police exist to perpetuate inequality in society and to further the suppression and repression of the lower classes, which are alienated from socio-political and economic resources by the upper classes, which have access to these resources. Several scholars have written about the police using this perspective. For instance, Bowden (1978, p. 19) believes that the roles of the police include repression of the poor and powerless in order to protect the interests of the rulers, while Brogden (1982, p. 203) describes the police in more radical terms, stating that police forces are structured, organizationally and ideologically to act against the marginal strata. The foregoing school of thought therefore believes that the policecommunity relationship is anything but mutual. On the other hand, the functionalist perspective in sociology is of the opinion that there is order inherent in society. This order is consolidated by the fact that different

structures in society work together harmoniously for the sustenance of society. The police are necessary to ensure that public peace is guaranteed through the maintenance of law and order. Hence, the functionalists believe that the police are friends of the public since they exist for the good of the people.
Policelocal vigilantes relations

All over the world, in the face of police inability to stem surging crime waves, community members are turning from formal law enforcement agents to various self-help initiatives and this situation is not peculiar to Nigeria. For example, Ocqueteau (1988) stated that, in France, vigilante groups were sponsored by the semi-fascist National Front and were usually patronised by poorer people who were attracted to this alternative because of the prohibitive cost of insurance and private security. Trojanowicz and Bucqueroux (1990, p. 131) also report that, within the United States, there were almost twice as many people employed in private security as there were public police. In different parts of Nigeria where the police have been found wanting in their responsibility of maintaining law and order, especially as regards combating criminal activities, local vigilante groups have often come to the rescue of members of the public and this has also inuenced the public perception of the police as ineffective in crime control. From the south-western parts to the south-eastern parts of Nigeria, there were periods in the past when the menace of armed robbers seemed insurmountable by the conventional police force. The intervention of local vigilante groups (most of which later evolved into ethnic militias) brought the situation to normality. In Lagos State, south-western Nigeria, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) once took charge of policing the State when the State

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was under siege by robbers. Also in other parts of the country, for instance Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria, the Bakassi Boys took charge of security matters in the State after the police had obviously failed in their constitutional responsibility of maintaining order in the State. In fact, the popularity and effectiveness of the Bakassi Boys led to the Anambra State House of Assembly enacting an Act, which legalised the Bakassi Boys, changing their name to Anambra Vigilance Services (AVS) (The News, 20th August 2001, Onyeonoru, 2001). However, no sooner had these local militant groups emerged than they were criticised for their excesses, especially in their system of jungle justice, which some people believed involved innocent victims. The nature and constitution of most of these local militant groups pitched them against the police, so most of the time they were at loggerheads with the police. Alemika and Chukwuma (2000) report that between 1996 and 1998, policemen in uniform were targets of violence by armed gangs in Lagos. In late 1999, armed gangs in Odi in Bayelsa State also abducted and killed 12 police ofcers. This led to the deployment of solders to the community to restore order. The result is what is popularly referred to as the Odi massacre. Also in late 1999 and early 2000, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) attacked police ofcers with dangerous weapons and acid, killing and injuring several police ofcers and burning police stations (The Guardian, Tuesday, January 11, 2000). The northern part of the country was not spared from this ugly policemilitant groups fracas as during the Maitatsine religious violence in Kano, in December 1980, over 5,000 citizens were reportedly killed. 14 police ofcers were also killed, while 15 police vehicles were burnt. (Alemika & Chukwuma, 2000).

COMMUNITY POLICING TO THE RESCUE

Given the above scenarios, a much better tool of enforcing law and order in society, which will enjoy the support of community members, becomes very essential. Community policing is a new philosophy of policing, based on the concept that police ofcers and private citizens working together in creative ways can help solve contemporary community problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder and neighbourhood decay. Many scholars have described the denition of community policing as a difcult task. But Trojanowicz (1994, pp. 23) provides the most common denition that has come to be identied as the nine Ps of community policing. He notes that Community policing is a philosophy of full service personalized policing, where the same ofcer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems. The concept of community policing as practised in other parts of the world will include a series of processes, which include consistent appraisal by relevant independent bodies. Community policing will remove public scepticism and cynicism, which characterise traditional policing in Nigeria. It facilitates community involvement and partnership with the police in crime prevention programmes, and infuses community concerns into policing priorities through the organisation of regular interactive fora between the police and the communities they serve. Community policing also differs from traditional policing in that members of the community are at the centrepoint of all efforts at policing them. They are involved in security decisions, giving them a sense of belonging and responsibility. Community policing has been practised

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in other parts of the world and a lot of improvements have been recorded as a result. Ferreira (1996) highlights some of the testimonials of community policing. Also, Wycoff and Skogan (1993), cited in Ferreira, examined the implementation and impact of community policing in Madison, Wisconsin and found that it was possible for a traditional police department to change and for ofcers and the community to benet from improved attitudes. McElroy, Cosgrove and Sadd (1993) also evaluated the Community Patrol Ofcer Programme in New York City and found many reasons for satisfaction and optimism for the future, though they also found some shortcomings in implementation, community involvement and command support. In its report on the community policing partnership in Seattle, Washington, the United States National Institute of Justice (1992) claimed that the exercise was successful since crime statistics showed a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of citizens. Furthermore, in evaluating community policing in Singapore, Bayley (1989) stated that through it police operations in Singapore have become more adaptive and rational. He saw community policing as a model that would serve other police organisations well and called it one of the most far-reaching examples of police reform in the world today (Bayley, 1989, p. 31). In Chicago, a community-policing project, which started in 1993 as a eld test, was evaluated after two years with encouraging ndings. Some of these include: the fact that perceived crime problems had decreased signicantly; robbery and auto theft declined; residents had more positive attitudes towards the police; and police supervisors involved in the study were more optimistic than their counterparts about the impact of community policing (US National Institute of Justice, 1995). In Nigeria, the CLEEN Foundation (formerly known as the Centre for Law Enforcement

Education) implemented a pilot project on community policing in Nigeria, which was carried out in 14 local governments across the 6 geopolitical zones in the country. It was observed inter alia that there was a moderate improvement in public perception of the police and increased collaboration between the police and the community in terms of crime information generation (CLEEN Foundation, 2004). However, there has been some agitation in some quarters to disband local vigilante groups in Nigeria, but community policing can improve the relationship between the police and local vigilante groups, since banning such groups may not be feasible. Chukwuma (2002) observed that banning local vigilantism would invariably mean that all local vigilante groups, including inner city communities and rural areas where police patrols and at times police posts are conspicuously absent, would be banned. This is indeed a tall order. The menace of some unscrupulous local vigilante groups can best be handled through community policing, as the leadership structure of community policing encompasses reputable men and women in society who can always call such vigilante groups to order. Community policing entails a synergy of efforts between the police and the local vigilante groups as well as other members of society. However, the Nigerian context presents certain challenges to the effective practice of community policing.
THE CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY POLICING IN NIGERIA

Laudable as the goals and objectives of community policing might be, its applicability in the Nigerian context is beclouded with certain concerns. Some of these are addressed under this section. First, the historical and present day realities of community mistrust in law enforcement in Nigeria may affect the

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effectiveness of community policing if not well addressed. There is a long-standing antagonistic relationship between the police and community members, which may adversely affect the success of the scheme. Waddington (as cited in Ferreira, 1996) observed that community policing was a romantic delusion because it was not based on the world we have lost as some supporters are claiming. According to him, there was never a time when the police ofcer was everyone's friend, and there will never be such a time in the future. This viewpoint may appear too extreme but it is a fact that cannot be pushed aside. In Nigeria, an average citizen is of the opinion that the rank and le of the police are corrupt and that they cannot be trusted. This has been exacerbated by the mass media, which have reported incidences of police brutality and injustice at various times in the past. The most recent of such infamous cases of police high-handedness was the 2005 extrajudicial murder of six young traders by policemen in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory. The case drew a great deal of attention from both national and international media. Another factor that may pose a challenge to effective community policing in Nigeria is the concept of Godfatherism. This is the funding and abetting of vices and shielding of connected criminals from justice by government agents and highly placed ofcials entrusted with the power and authority to investigate and prosecute such vices (Onyeozili, 2005). Also, the pilot project carried out by the CLEEN Foundation (2004) observed that partisan community leaders with political ambition weakened the cohesion of the community-policing forum. Hence the existing structure, which is an awful imitation of community policing (the police community relations groups), in some places already has this factor to contend with. Many powerful politicians, who constitute most of the membership of these

bodies, often use their position in society to shield criminals who are loyal to their cause. Most of these miscreants, who are used by politicians during electioneering campaigns and as body guards, are often shielded from the arm of the law by these political demagogues. Corruption is another canker which threatens the success of community policing in Nigeria. Police ofcers who had beneted from the status quo of traditional policing may nd it difcult to adjust to the radical diversion from the traditional style of policing. This implies that for community policing to be successful, there is a need for a massive reorientation of the rank and le of the Nigerian police force. The availability, quality and distribution of social infrastructure also affect both police performance and relations between the police and the public. These social infrastructure elements also impact on the extent and severity of crimes as well as the capacity of police to respond to the security and welfare needs of citizens. The citizens who live in deprived areas of a country are more likely to be hostile to government and especially to the police, which they see as a symbol of an insensitive and irresponsive government. For instance, the recent environmental issues in the Niger Delta regions of the country may affect the success of community policing if the issue of environmental degradation and its consequences are not addressed rst and foremost. Lastly, the CLEEN Foundation pilot project further observed the following as challenges to the effectiveness of community policing: high turnover of personnel in the Nigerian police force and local governments due to frequent transfers; lack of awareness of the project in some communities; inadequacy of funding; monitoring and evaluation1;

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ignorance on the part of some police ofcers; politicising the leadership of the scheme.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

The image of the police is essential to the effectiveness of community policing in Nigeria. Members of the community need to be reassured of the sincerity of purpose on the part of the police. In Nigeria, securing the condence of the people in the police may take a while due to the battered image of the police. The police as a body will have to sanitise their rank and le to ensure that they live above board as far as corruption is concerned. The reform programme should also incorporate massive reorientation and mass mobilisation2 for the police and citizens respectively. Furthermore the police should limit their involvement in partisan politics, as they should be seen as unbiased umpires rather than as tools of oppression in the hands of the ruling parties. This may be a bit difcult since the system puts the nations apex security apparatus (the police) under the control of the executive arm of government and as the saying goes he who pays the piper calls the tune. The ongoing electoral reform should also consider police involvement in elections vis--vis their mode of operation as one of the cardinal points to be visited. Also the syndrome of Baba Isale (Godfatherism), which entails that some members of the public are above the law and so treated as sacred cows, should be carefully examined. Moreover, if the present-day government is to live up to its promise of upholding the rule of law, then a viable and dependent community oriented police force will certainly be a plus to this claim. The content of the training of police ofcers should include liberal subjects like

sociology, psychology and political science, which will impart to the ofcers elements of social structure and human relations. There should also be frequent refresher training for ofcers and community leaders. On the part of the police, the recruitment and selection of police ofcers should be done with greater caution to minimise the appointment of criminals as law enforcement agents. Membership of community policing forums should cut across ethnic, religious, occupational and age groups in order to make it all encompassing and cater for the interest of every member of the community. The issue of nance is another challenge facing the success of community policing in Nigeria. The traditional police setup is apparently under-funded, with successive Inspectors-General of police complaining of lack of nance and equipment. Community policing requires much greater funding than traditional policing, since it entails that all ofcers be trained and retrained, more modern crime-ghting equipment be procured and the morale of ofcers be boosted with pay rises and other incentives. The chances that the Nigerian budget (especially the allocation to the police) might cater for the cost of the exercise are very slim. Lastly, the police-local vigilante relationship should be harmonised and put in a better perspective to ensure a healthy relationship between them. This responsibility is best given to the local government areas since they are closest to the people. The local government areas should organise regular seminars to enlighten vigilantes on their roles as well as on their limitations, and how to ensure effective synergy with the police force. The success of community policing in Nigeria may appear as a mirage, given all these challenges, but the careful and sincere implementation of its principles will yield a success similar to the success

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stories recorded in other parts of the world.

NOTES

(1) The problem of inadequacy of funding is independent of monitoring and evaluation. In Nigeria, certain events have shown that the provision of funds to a public sector (of which the police is an example) does not guarantee its effectiveness. This can be corroborated by recent experiences at the energy and aviation sectors respectively. Over the years, the government had pumped funds into these sectors but in most cases these funds nd their ways into private accounts. Monitoring in this case ensures accountability and probity. Also, the idea of monitoring and evaluation suggests that the project of community policing should not be launched and abandoned as most programmes which successive administrations/ regimes launched mainly with the aim of wasting resource and most of these programmes ended up being replaced or abandoned completely. (2) By this I imply that certain advocacy programmes be launched to sensitise both the police and members of the public on the need to combine forces and this mass mobilisation was emphasised because of the age long antagonism between the police and members of the public.

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Washington, DC: Institute of US Department of Justice. Bowden, T. (1978). Beyond the Limits of Law. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd. Brogden, M. (1982). The Police: Autonomy and Consent.London: Academic Press. Chukwuma, I. (2002). Vigilante and Policing in Nigeria in Law Enforcement Review, July-September, Lagos, CLEEN. CLEEN Foundation. (2004). Evaluation of Community Policing Forum Project. Lagos, Nigeria: author. Ferreira, B. R. (1996). The Use and Effectiveness of Community Policing in a Democracy. In M. Pagon (Ed.), Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Comparing Firsthand Knowledge with Experience from the West. Ljubljana, Slovenia: College of Police and Security Studies. McElroy, J. E., Cosgrove, C. A., & Sadd, S. (1993). Community Policing: The CPOP in New York. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Ocqueteau, M. M. F. (1988). Has The Community Any Role In Expert Policing? Keynote paper presented at the 18th Criminological Research Conference, Strasbourg, France cited in Judge, A. (1988) Is there a Prot to be made out of Policing? Police: Monthly Magazine of the Police Federation, Vol XXI, no. 4 December, pp. 1216. Onyeonoru, I. (2001, October). Social insecurity and the Bakassi Boys revolution in Eastern Nigeria. Paper presented at the International Conference on Security, Segregation and Social Networks in West African Cities, 19th20th Centuries, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Onyeozili, E. C. (2005). Obstacles to Effective Policing in Nigeria. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 1(1), 3254. Trojanowicz, R. C. (1994). The Future of Community Policing. In D. P. Rosenbaum (Ed.), The Challenge of Community Policing: Testing the Promises. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 278281. Trojanowicz, R. C., & Bucqueroux, B. (1990). Community Policing: A Contemporary

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Perspective. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co. United States, National Institute of Justice. (1992, August). Community Policing in Seattle: A Model Partnership Between Citizens and Police (Research in Brief). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice. United States, National Institute of Justice (1995, October). Community Policing in Chicago: Year Two (Research Preview). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice. White, M. F., Cox, T. C., & Basehart, J. (1991). Theoretical Considerations of Ofcer Profanity and Obscenity in Formal Contacts with Citizens. In T. Barker and

D. L. Carter (Eds.), Police Deviance. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co., pp. 275297. Wycoff, M. A., & Skogan, W. K. (1993). Community Policing in Madison: Quality From the Inside Out An Evaluation of Implementation and Impact (National Institute of Justice Research Report). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.

NEWSPAPERS The Sun, 15 March 2007 The Guardian, 11 January 2000 The News magazine, 20 August 2001

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