Public Perception of Police Performance in Lagos State: A case Study of Shomolu L.G.A

                                           Pix: www.agunbiadeolumide.blogspot.com

By Olumide T. Agunbiade

  INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The Nigeria Police has not been able to perform its duty in such a way that the citizenry will

appreciate and support their duties. Various reports abound of high-handedness, torture, mass

killings, intimidation, rape, extra judicial killings (summary execution) and other heinous crimes

perpetrated against the same citizenry they ought to protect.

This to a large extent make police-citizen relationships in the country to be characterized by mutual hostility and resentment. Recently, mass communicators in their modern outfits have discussed the possibility that there may be no single solution to this problem.

Crimes and violence creates serious consequences for the citizens and society. Individual and

societal aspirations for democracy, development, human rights, high standard of living are

undermined by high level of crimes.

 Violence and crime is most widespread and endemic in Lagos State. This is most likely due to its being the most economically active and densely populated city in Nigeria.

 In spite of the crime problem in Lagos state, there are no reliable statistics on the trend and pattern of crime and victimization. In order to bridge these gap, this study surveys the extent and pattern of crimes, perceptions of crime and the police among residents of Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria.

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The Nigerian Police has evolved vibrant structures and mechanisms such as Police Public Complaint Bureau, Police Community Relations Committees and various organs of the Community-Policing Project. However, the issue of lethal force, extra-judicial killings, intimidation, extortion, illegal arrest and detention is still rampant in the nigerian communities and society at large.

Conceptually, crime can be seen as an infraction of both the basic principles of law and order and the norms of civilized behavior. No society is immune from this social problem but what differs is the frequency and magnitude of the situation and the response mechanisms to address it.

As part of human community, Nigeria is currently caught in the web of crime dilemma, manifesting in the convulsive upsurge of both violent and non-violent crimes. But the most alarming and terrifying is the present escalation of violent crimes and the barbarity, lethality and trauma the perpetrators unleash on the hapless citizenry across the length and breadth of the country.

 Notable in this regard are the rising incidents of robbery, assassination and ransomed-driven kidnapping, which are now ravaging the polity like a tsunami and spreading a climate of fears and anxieties about public safety.

The significance of  security to mankind cannot be over-emphasized as the socio‐economic structure of any society or organization depends on the security system available in such society or organization(Oyegoke,2003).

Hence,  human beings and societies since the beginning of time have developed measures to safeguard themselves and their properties against threat. Some ofthese measures predate the institutionalization of the public police and other uniformed institutions.

However, the activities of the Nigerian police in Lagos State, their increasing importance to crime prevention, and  the assessment of theirperformance has not been empirically

investigated.

Considering the human cost of the upwardly growing level of grave crimes  in Lagos, the question is:

Can the police maintain law and order in Lagos State?

What are the underlying causative factors behind the exponential increase in violent crimes in Lagos state?

What are the realistic means of containing these worrisome developments?

Unarguably, poverty and unemployment is the harbinger of most crimes. A recent estimate put the number of Nigerians living below the poverty line at 70 per cent. Regarding unemployment, which has created available market for violence and various crimes, recent statistics from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) indicate that 12 million Nigerians are unemployed, this is not to mention those who are underemployed.

FOR THE FULL PROJECT CALLOR WHATSAPP MR BROWN ON  O8023882330.