Managing police personnel for effective crime control in Nigeria
| Published date | 01 March 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355716677877 |
| Date | 01 March 2017 |
| Author | Eke Chijioke Chinwokwu |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Managing police personnel for
effective crime control in Nigeria
Eke Chijioke Chinwokwu
Federal University Lafia, Lafia, Nasarawa, Nigeria
Abstract
This study examines the ways in which police authorities manage their personnel, as well as the factors militating against
police authorities in managing their personnel for effective crime control and prevention in Nigeria. The study used both
quantitative and qualitative designs to attempt to identify the criteria used in posting police officers. Data were obtained
through questionnaires from 360 randomly selected respondents complemented by 15 in-depth interviews (IDI)
undertaken in three geo-political regions in Nigeria namely: southeast, southwest and north central. The three geo-
political regions were purposively chosen based on the incidences of armed robbery recorded in each. The study also used
secondary data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Nigeria Police Force as reference materials. Simple
percentages and chi-squared tests were em ployed to analyse the collected data. Th e qualitative data were content
analysed. The findings revealed that factors such as crime rate, population size, industrial development and land mass
or political interference were not clearly defined criteria used in the posting of personnel. The number of police in a region
does not equate to more or less crime; effective crime control and prevention depend on proper and effective utilization,
as well as management, of police personnel. Police authorities are culpable of mismanagement of police personnel for
personal gain to the detriment of citizens; most states are under-policed and under-staffed. This study also found that
factors militating against the effective utilization and management of police personnel include: corruption, political
interference, ethno-religi ous consideration, lack of fund s and lack of facilities. Thus, the study recommends among
other things, that the distribution of police personnel should be anchored to the population size, industrialization and
volume of criminality in a particular place; there should be a gross reduction in the numbers of personnel attached to
political officials, whereas those attached to individuals who are not entitled to personal poli ce protection must be
withdrawn and efforts made to recruit more people into the police force.
Keywords
Management, police personnel, crime control, Nigeria, crime rate
Submitted 26 Sep 2016, accepted 16 Oct 2016
Introduction and background to the study
There can be no socio-economic development in any nation
without domestic peace, law and order. Therefore, the pri-
mary task of the police in internal security is one of crime
control and prevention, as well as the maintenance of law
and order (Okiro, 2008). A police force is an agency of
government given responsibility for maintaining public
order and security. It is just one aspect of the criminal
justice system, but its unique responsibility makes it indis-
pensable; without the police, the others – courts and prisons
– are inadequate or incapacitated. The unique position of
the police places them closest to the populace as the chief
enforcer of all government rules and regulations. However,
‘in an attempt to fight crime in Nigeria, the Nigeria Police
Force (NPF) has demonstrated clearly that it is ineffective
and inefficient in maintaining law and order’ (Iwarimie-
Jaja, 2006, cited in Ebeniro, 2011: 31). This apparent
Corresponding author:
Eke Chijioke Chinwokwu, Federal University Lafia, Akun-Obi Road, Lafia,
Lafia, Nasarawa 111111, Nigeria.
Email: eke.chinwokwu@gmail.com
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2017, Vol. 19(1) 11–22
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355716677877
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