Community Policing in Contemporary Nigeria: A Synthesis of Models
Samuel Iornenge Zumve · 2012
The aim of this article is to explore ways in which the agencies of the indigenous Nigerian social control mechanisms can be integrated into the community policing project in contemporary Nigeria It begins by discussing the ineffectiveness of community policing project based on the structures of the Nigerian police service a ‘colonial legacy ’ in combating person and property crimes in Nigeria. The article describes the limitations of the Nigerian Police Organisation, the relevance of the indigenous agencies of social control in detecting and preventing the criminal acts of terrorism and kidnapping based on the notion that perpetrators of these acts most at times resides or hide in the locations where these criminals acts take place.The article concludes by reconverting that agencies of the indigenous social control systems be incorporated in the formal community policing project.Finally, apart from the formal collaboration between the police and agencies of the indigenous social control systems in the area of formulating crime prevention strategies, the police should bereorganised and be more responsive, civil and fair to members of the Nigerian citizenry.