COMMUNITY POLICING AND CRIME REDUCTION IN IDEMILI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated community policing and crime reduction in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. To achieve the objectives of the study, two specific objectives and two research questions were formulated to guide the study. The assumptions of the structural functionalism theory was adopted as theoretical framework. The study population was 614,200. The study employed mix methods research design. A total of 400 respondents, aged 18years and above were randomly selected, structured questionnaire and in-depth interview were used for quantitative and qualitative tools for data collection. The quantitative data were presented and analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution tables while the qualitative data were sorted and analysed using thematic coding and iterative interpretation. The study findings showed that there are other policing groups other than the formal police, which were established to reduce criminal activities in the study area. Also, the relationship that exists between community policing groups and the Nigerian Police is better described as a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly.it was recommended amongst others that there is need to embark on proper training and retraining of vigilante groups and other community policing groups nationwide, as it will help in instilling positive attitudes, proficiency and professional efficiency among community policing groups in the implementation of community policing system. The study concluded that the police institutions in Nigeria cannot effectively address the enormous crime problems ravaging the country alone, thus, there is a need for effective collaboration and synergy between the community policing groups and the Nigerian police.