THE NIGERIAN POLICING SYSTEM IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE DEFECTS AND THE PANACEAS, By Opeyemi Oladimeji

Criminality is part and parcel of human nature and society. That is why no society can claim to be completely free of crime. But the types of criminal behaviour tend to follow the pattern of social and economic development of a given society. It is therefore not unexpected that a society at a low level of development tends to experience an upsurge in the rate of violent crimes such as armed robbery, politically motivated killings, the use of illegal weapons, ethnic and religious clashes and the like. What is worrisome, however, is that the police, that are meant to be the antidote to criminality appear to be getting overwhelmed by the phenomenon. The criminals appear to be ahead of the police, such that the latter now only react to the commission of crimes and usually after the offenders might have left the scene. What is even more worrisome is that, rather than evoke confidence and hope in the public, the appearance of our policemen often conjures to the public a depressing feeling of fear and mistrust.

It seems pertinent to observe that the dismal image of the Police accounts for the non-cooperation by the public, who are often reluctant to volunteer useful information to the Police. Yet, the task of crime prevention and detection as well as prosecution of offenders cannot be successfully performed without the cooperation of the public. The Police exist to serve the people. It is therefore important that police activities should be people-oriented and reflect public interest. Their activities should meet the expectations of the people, whom they serve. This is the way by which the police can win the critical public support that they so much need for effectiveness and efficiency. Without the support of the people, police work will be unbearable, tedious and hazardous (Soyombo, 2004).

Other allegations levelled against the police include arbitrariness in the exercise of its powers to arrest and prosecute corruption and perversion of justice, use of crude techniques of investigation, collusion with criminals and incessant cases of accidental discharge of lethal bullet. In addition to the complaints earlier referred to, there are institutional constraints, which contribute to the uncomplimentary image of the institution and thereby undermining their capacity to deliver efficient crime control and policing services. These include inadequate manpower, lack of expertise, lack of adequate equipment, low level of education, low morale, shabby appearance, lack of training facilities and poor conditions of service of the average policeman (Olujinmi, 2004).

The central objective of policing is to provide security, or at least a social and psychological feeling of security, for a majority of citizens, in a majority of places and for most of the time. And this central objective is a summary of the following sub-objectives, which are prerequisites to that of security: To prevent, control and combat criminality wherever and by whomever necessary; to maintain public order and peace; to render assistance and service to all citizens needing or requiring security; and to favourably symbolise the government by always upholding the rule of law (Odekunle, 2004).

From these central and sub-objectives of policing, the importance of policing to society and to citizens’ perception of the government (which the Police Force is seen as representing) cannot be overestimated. This importance becomes clearer when one considers that the Policemen are the government officials most proximate to crime, temporarily and procedurally, and are the leading figures in crime prevention, control and in law enforcement process. Also, their honesty, integrity and observance of procedural laws in handling offenders and non-offenders have deep implications for the citizens’ perception of fairness and justice and for the degree of respect the average citizens have for the law. Very importantly, being highly visible (compared to courts and prisons) and being the primary or main government authority legally authorised to use force on citizens, policemen’s behaviour affects citizens’ opinion about their government.

Challenges facing Policing in Nigeria

1. Material inadequacies:- Material inputs in terms of funding, crime prevention, control, detection, investigation, traffic control and accident–prevention, communication and data–gathering research needs are not only inadequate, but are unrealistic as well.

2. Human Problems: - The Nigerian Police has human problems that not only aggravate its material insufficiencies, but are also of tremendous adverse impact on its general performance daily. Factors responsible for these problems include:

????????The colonial origin and heritage of the force which continue to influence the selection, training and orientation of a majority of Policemen;

????????Improper, inefficient and sometimes corrupt and nepotistic methods of recruitment;

????????Lopsided emphasis (in training curricula) towards ‘drill’, Para–military work, and ‘mechanistic’ teaching of law and Police work.

????????Exposure of recruits to only ‘professional Police officers’ and only in exclusive Police institutions;

????????Lack courtesy, non-challant attitude to citizens’ complaints, dishonesty, corruption, abuse or misuse of the authority to arrest, detain or the use of force by a substantial number of Policemen on the streets and in the station, etc;

????????Discouraging salary, poor conditions of service, rank– mobility, promotion criteria and procedure for the ‘rank and file’ recent efforts to improve the situation notwithstanding;

3. Absence of an overall crime–prevention /control policy, body and planning.

4. Political interference and the feeling of accountability by the force to the ‘government of the day’ rather than to the rule of law and the people (i.e. a carry-over from the colonial period and the succeeding military regimes).

5. A materialistic, greedy, corrupt and undisciplined socio-economic environment (i.e. a society gets the Police Force it deserves).

6. The burdensome character of our inherited legal system (from the substantial and procedural law through justice–administration to offender–correction) which has never been meaningful or socio -scientifically reviewed to make justice ‘real’ rather than ‘technical’ and speedy rather than delayed (Odekunle, 2004).

Practical steps towards improving Policing in Nigeria

The suggestions here are directed particularly at behavioural and attitudinal re-orientation (through appropriate selection criteria, proper and adequate training and considerably improved police salary and conditions of service) to achieve a long lasting solution.

?????To develop ‘concurrent’ and ‘predictive’ validation tests for use in selection of ‘suitable’ policemen both at recruitment and immediately after probationary period (i.e. social – psychological aptitude tests in addition to the normal educational, physical and medical requirements);

?????To increase the length of training of recruits to a minimum period of 18 months;

?????To make training conditions humane (e.g. there is no need for any form of physical brutalities) to minimise inculcation of unwholesome inhuman dispositions into police personnel;

?????The training curricular should considerably emphasise (in addition to police work) knowledge about our society; the importance of the policemen’s community–service role; the meaning and use of initiative and discretion; the position of citizens as consumers of police work; the supremacy of the rule of law; the type of ethics to be internalised by a policeman and the cruciality of the observance of human rights;

?????Trainees should be exposed to lecturers and teachers from outside the police (e.g. guest–lecturers from universities, Trade Unions, other occupational associations and student unions);

?????There is need to intensify internal re-organisation of the police to revitalise and enforce, on a systematic and continuous basis, rules concerning police courtesy, response to (and handling of) citizens’ reports or complaints, use of only necessary force, observance of the legal and other rights of citizens, including offenders;

?????There is need to establish and ensure systematic and regular (foot /motorised) patrol and deployment according to population – needs to eliminate or reduce the opportunity to commit crime or increase the opportunity for apprehension during or immediately after a crime has been committed;

?????There is need to establish citizens monitoring organisation (from the Federal to the Local Government levels) with disciplinary powers to ‘police’ the Nigeria Police and ensure that it is upholding the rule of law because it is said that “when the law officer is breaking the law, there is no law”;

?????There is need to develop a structure, system and a corps of civilian research personnel for proper and adequate recording, collation, analysis and publication of crime–data on a regular annual basis (as necessary in-put for projection, planning, operations);

?????The selection of an Inspector General of Police (I.G.P) should be guided by professional competence rather than ‘politics’, ‘sycophancy’ or ‘docility’;

?????The salary, conditions of service, rank-mobility, promotion criteria and procedure should be made more appropriate to the risk of the occupation and reviewed for considerable improvement e.g. promotion should be based on performance and length of service, whether in the area of crime–fighting, community–service or public–relations; and there should be horizontal progression of remuneration for the rank and file (Odekunle, 2004).