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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Community Policing Project And Its Take Off In Enugu
THE Nigeria Police community-policing project, established in April by President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been launched in Enugu. A major development programme introduced by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Tafa Balogun, Enugu was selected as the first pilot state for the project.
The Enugu State Governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, launched the programme. He was supported by the UK Department of International Development, the British Council and Access to Justice, a pro-poor rights-based initiative working with the justice system in Nigeria.
The project may have come to be, given the commitment of those behind it.
Community policing is founded on the principle that in a democratic society, the police are entrusted by their fellow citizens to project and protect the fundamental rights to liberty, equality and justice of Nigerians under the law. To fulfil these obligations, the police must be a part of the communities they serve.
Police the world over, claim to practise community policing, but the concept in often misunderstood and misapplied. Conventionally, community policing is perceived as a single model or technical specification that can be transplanted into any policing environment regardless of organisational, cultural or social context.
Though community policing is a philosophy and value system against which the force objectives and performance are measured, local models can and will vary and evolve according to the differing needs of different communities, even as they share and retain the same set of key principles and core values.
The reasons for adopting the more proactive approach inherent in community policing are both philosophical and pragmatic.
At the philosophical level, any police organisation that seeks to serve democratic and humanitarian ideals must be (and be seen to be) transparent, fair, apolitical, accountable and responsive to public perceptions and expectations. Such policing is characterised by the notion of "Police Service" rather than "Police Force," where the most significant benchmarks of performance are public satisfaction, trust, and confidence.
But at the pragmatic level, there exists a wealth of evidence to confirm that the traditional approach to policing, which tends to be reactive and exclusively law-enforcement based, is ultimately not effective in preventing crime and anti-social behaviour within society. Further, a predominantly reactive policing style encourages an alienating police culture, whereby; the police and public develop a 'them and us' mentality towards one another.
"The inevitable outcome is that the police image suffers, public confidence declines, and citizens withdraw their voluntary support and cooperation," volunteered an officer.
Finance provides another pragmatic and compelling reason to pursue a community policing style. Citizens and their elected representatives are entitled to ask how public funds are being spent and to demand value for money.
In competing for their share of limited public funds, public sector organisations should be able to prove that they have spent their budget wisely and that resources have been targeted effectively towards social priorities. If the police can demonstrate they are both operational and cost effective in achieving results, as evidenced in service quality and public satisfaction, they gain a significant edge in the bidding for future finance and resources.
Effective community policing will evidence the following key principles: Selected patrol officers are assigned permanently to small areas or zones (usually called 'beats') with delegated responsibility for policing; that high visibility patrols are conducted, ordinarily on foot, to interact with the public, gain the confidence and co-operation of citizens, and develop local knowledge.
The aim of patrol activity is to be preventative and provide public reassurance; patrolling must, therefore, be directed and focused and with clear objectives, not aimless and undirected.
Policing involves community consultation, cooperation and interdependence; the police participate with the public at large in identifying and prioritising community needs. Also, police and community work in partnership to devise and implement agreed solutions to problems and community actively engaged in the policing role through volunteer schemes, initiating neighbourhood support networks and augmenting police patrol activities.
Policing involves multi-agency collaboration. In other words, the police should recognise that no statutory or voluntary body can make a meaningful impact on social problems if it acts in isolation of others. The police liaise and work together with other statutory agencies and voluntary organisations in addressing crime and other disturbances to public tranquillity.
That police is essentially proactive is now a fact, as the underlying causes of crime, incidents and public complaints are analysed and identified. But rather than simply reacting to the incidence of crime, and social behaviour and other sources of public complaint, the police must adopt systematic and integrated problem-solving approach with a view to reducing and preventing such incidents.
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