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SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019, PAGE 7 PROLOGUE COMMUNITY POLICING: Face-toface with fears and prospects By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor When Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, in April this year, said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved community policing, many had thought that what the President approved was state police. The succeeding arguments <strong>on</strong> whether state police should come into being via presidential proclamati<strong>on</strong> or enactment of the Nati<strong>on</strong>al Assembly indicated that <strong>on</strong>ly but a few knew what community policing is all about. The IGP had, at the Forum of Northern Traditi<strong>on</strong>al Rulers in Kaduna, said Buhari approved the adopti<strong>on</strong> of a community police system to combat growing security threats across Nigeria. He described community policing as a citizen-centered and community policing approach which would lead to more sustainable successes in the management of internal security threats. Policing model Also, the IGP said the policing model envisaged for the country would involve the establishment and usage of Special C<strong>on</strong>stables. On the heels of that, the Federal G<str<strong>on</strong>g>over</str<strong>on</strong>g>nment inaugurated a 14-member committee to work out the framework of strengthening internal security and community policing. Since then the police boss has c<strong>on</strong>tinued with his advocacies for it, though with less awareness campaign. Irrespective of that, community policing is still mistaken for state police by Nigerians. Wesley G. Skogan and Susan M. Harnett, in their book, Community Policing, Chicago Style, said community policing is a model that involves organisati<strong>on</strong>al decentralisati<strong>on</strong>, new channels of communicati<strong>on</strong> with the public, a commitment to resp<strong>on</strong>ding to what the community thinks their priorities ought to be, and the adopti<strong>on</strong> of a broad problem-solving approach to neighborhood issues. Excerpts from the book read: “Police departments across the country are busily ‘reinventing’ themselves, adopting a new style known as ‘community policing’. “The c<strong>on</strong>cept is so popular with the public and city councils that scarcely a chief wants his department to be known for failing to climb <strong>on</strong> this bandwag<strong>on</strong>.” As its name suggests, the model differs from the current system of policing. Three strategies These distincti<strong>on</strong>s were captured by Bello Ibrahim, Magajo Saleh and Jamilu Mukhtar, in ‘An Overview of Community Policing in Nigeria’ thus: “Three strategies make community policing quite distinct from traditi<strong>on</strong>al policing: community partnership, organisati<strong>on</strong>al transformati<strong>on</strong>, and problem-solving.” Most Nigerians may not know much about the policing system, but findings by Sunday Vanguard revealed that the country had l<strong>on</strong>g c<strong>on</strong>sidered the prospects of community policing l<strong>on</strong>g before the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, embraced it 2002. Informati<strong>on</strong> from the archives of the Nigeria Police shows that the police had commenced community policing during the tenure of former IGP Tafa Balogun, precisely in March 2002. The force did so in partnership with the British Council Department for Internati<strong>on</strong>al Development, DFID. It was learned that a secti<strong>on</strong>, Community Development, and Strategy Development, is charged with the resp<strong>on</strong>sibility of ensuring that community policing works. Pilot phase Informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the website of the police said some police officers have been trained under the programme in the UK and USA since its incepti<strong>on</strong>. It said officers in the secti<strong>on</strong> m<strong>on</strong>itor and evaluate the implementati<strong>on</strong> and development of community policing. Besides, a Police Commissi<strong>on</strong>er, Austin Apart from the Force Public Relati<strong>on</strong>s Officer, PRO, Frank Mba, who was very optimistic, others were pessimistic. The majority said irrespective of what the model seeks to achieve, state police remains the answer to the under-policing of Nigeria Iwar, who authored ‘Implementing Community Policing in Nigeria,’ said the police launched the community policing project in Enugu in 2004. He stated that following how the pilot phase worked in Enugu, then IGP, Sunday Ehindero, ordered that it should be d<strong>on</strong>e in Benue, Jigawa, Kano, Ogun, and Ondo states. Using the pilot states as an example, he explained that the model “adopts four essential strategies of resp<strong>on</strong>ding to the needs and c<strong>on</strong>cerns of individuals and communities, c<strong>on</strong>sulting with communities, mobilising communities, and solving recurring problems.’’ He added that ‘’the strategies are designed to encourage the community to become partners in c<strong>on</strong>trolling and preventing crime.” Social and instituti<strong>on</strong>al c<strong>on</strong>straints Whether community policing has been a success story in Nigeria since 2004 is a questi<strong>on</strong> with obvious answers. Sunday Vanguard believes that had the policing model worked, Nigeria may not have been this insecure and current moves at its (re)introducti<strong>on</strong> wouldn’t have appeared novel. That the IGP has not relented since he commenced the latest plans could as well be taken to mean that the previous attempt at having community policing failed. Several authorities <strong>on</strong> policing have also argued in that directi<strong>on</strong>, citing social and instituti<strong>on</strong>al c<strong>on</strong>straints. These problems are not different from the known factors militating against traditi<strong>on</strong>al policing in the country. They are but not limited to endemic corrupti<strong>on</strong>, absence of trust, and poor funding. Real danger Sunday Vanguard believes the effectiveness of community policing depends <strong>on</strong> the three factors, especially public c<strong>on</strong>fidence in the force. Unfortunately, getting a Nigerian who believes in the police is the most difficult task any<strong>on</strong>e could undertake. And that is where the real danger lies for community policing in the country. Certainly, the IGP may have to work more <strong>on</strong> the percepti<strong>on</strong> challenge c<strong>on</strong>fr<strong>on</strong>ting the force which Human Rights Watch said has a l<strong>on</strong>g history of engaging in unprofessi<strong>on</strong>al, corrupt and criminal c<strong>on</strong>duct. The imperativeness of having a better public percepti<strong>on</strong> can’t be <str<strong>on</strong>g>over</str<strong>on</strong>g>emphasised since community policing requires that officers are seen by communities as unbiased rather than tools of oppressi<strong>on</strong>. In the c<strong>on</strong>versati<strong>on</strong>s our reporters had with opini<strong>on</strong> leaders, the poor public percepti<strong>on</strong> of the police was an issue of c<strong>on</strong>cern. That in itself re-echoes the centrality of public c<strong>on</strong>fidence to the future of community policing in the country. Staff strength Apart from the Force Public Relati<strong>on</strong>s Officer, PRO, Frank Mba, who was very optimistic, others were pessimistic. The majority said irrespective of what the model seeks to achieve, state police remains the answer to the underpolicing of Nigeria. Currently, the Nigeria Police Force, which was established in 1930, has staff strength of about 301,737. Going by Nigeria’s populati<strong>on</strong>, the figure implies that <strong>on</strong>e police officer presumably protects 662 people. This is far below the United Nati<strong>on</strong>s recommendati<strong>on</strong> of <strong>on</strong>e police officer to 400 people. Notwithstanding, the police leadership seems not to be looking back in its determinati<strong>on</strong> to make policing every<strong>on</strong>e’s business through community policing. 40,000 CPOs The plan involves the recruitment of 40,000 Community Policing Officers, CPOs, in additi<strong>on</strong> to 1,300 CPOs to be domiciled across the 774 Local G<str<strong>on</strong>g>over</str<strong>on</strong>g>nment Areas, LGAs, in the country. Secti<strong>on</strong> 50 (1) of the Police Act 2004 was cited as the legal framework under which the plan is being executed. The IGP had explained it thus: “The breakdown of the community policing deployment plan c<str<strong>on</strong>g>over</str<strong>on</strong>g>s the recruitment of a total of 40,000 CPOs across the country in the interim. “The CPOs will be recruited from within the communities where the prospective applicants reside and 50 CPOs are to be engaged in each of the 774 Local G<str<strong>on</strong>g>over</str<strong>on</strong>g>nment Areas. “Also, 1,300 CPOs will be drawn from professi<strong>on</strong>al bodies like the academics, road transport uni<strong>on</strong>s, artisans, traders associati<strong>on</strong>s, religious bodies, women groups, and youth organisati<strong>on</strong>s am<strong>on</strong>g others.” The optimism of the police and c<strong>on</strong>cerns of regi<strong>on</strong>al sociopolitical groups, and opini<strong>on</strong> leaders c<strong>on</strong>verged <strong>on</strong> our Story of the Week, producing fresh perspectives to Nigeria’s search for a better policing system.
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