CRIME PREVENTION

DCP Walter J. Rugbere1

INTRODUCTION

I intend to approach this topic from an underlying philosophical impulse,

which I have found useful as a springboard for take-off, each time there is
an opportunity to examine the issue of crime prevention. It is my view that
the legitimacy and authority of the state over the people can be sustained
only to the extent it can guarantee the security of life and property of the
citizens. In a crime-prone society, only those with might survive. The
weak are left at the mercy of the strong; and in the words of Thomas
Hobbes, their life will become brutish and short. The oppressed class of
the society will withdraw loyalty and commitment to the state. And for as
long as they remain endangered species in the state, so will they continue
doing all it takes to fight for their well-deserved existence, and the
livelihood to sustain it.

AIM AND SCOPE

This paper has the main aim of discussing the role of the Nigeria Police in
crime prevention in Nigeria. To achieve this, the scope will cover the
following;

i. Crime and Causative factors;

ii. The Nigeria Police Crime Prevention Methodology;
iii. Police Operational Constraints;
iv. A forward look at 2010, and
v. Conclusion.

WHAT IS CRIME

There is no precise and complete definition of crime in view of the many

perspectives to the phenomenon. For instance, Cross and Jones look at
crime from a legalistic angle and state that:

“Crime is a legal wrong, the remedy for which is the punishment of

the offender, at the instance of the state.”

Justice Fakayode, retired Chief Justice of Oyo State of Nigeria,

trailing the legalistic path, dissects crime in its component parts by stating
that crime:

1
Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Nigeria Police Force.

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2 Crime Prevention

i. is an act or omission;
ii. proscribed by the state; and
iii. has a punishment for its occurrence.2

Section 2 of the Criminal Code Act of Nigeria defines a crime or

offence as;

"An act or omission which renders the person doing the act or
making the omission liable to punishment " 3

A similar provision is provided in Section 3 of the Penal Code.4

And from a sociological perspective, crime is a form of deviance,

and therefore a social problem in any society. Fuller and Myers categorized
social problem as:

“A condition, which is defined by a considerable number of persons

as a deviation from social norm (rules of conduct) which they
cherish”5

Sheila Balkan (et al), defines deviance as-

“A behaviour that differs from the normal or acceptable standards of

a society’s statistical majority.”6

Sheila Balkan further observes that-

“The designation of behaviour as a crime, a special case of the

more comprehensive category of deviance, indicates that the
behaviour is formally defined as illegal through the codification of
laws which are assumed to embody the societal consensus”7

Elmer H. Johnson therefore sees the policeman as:

“A formal control agent, who has been assigned the duty of

consciously enforcing deliberately formulated criminal laws, and
that his enforcement activity involves clear-cut event (such as an
arrest) which stand out from the daily routine of life”

Therefore, the concept of crime implies:

i. Existing norms or rules of conducts established through

societal consensus.

2
See Justice E. O. Fakayode, The Nigerian Criminal Code Companion, (Benin – Nigeria:
Ethiope Publishing Corporation, 1985), p.2
3
Criminal Code Act (CAP 77) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, p.3
4
Penal Code Cap 345 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, p.3
5
Richard C. Fuller and Richard R. Myers, “The Natural History of a Social Problem” cited in
Elmer H. Johnson, Illinois: the Dorsery Press, 1973), p.3
6
Sheila Balkan (et al), Crime and Deviance in America: A Critical Approach, Belmont.
7
Ibid

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DCP Walter J. Rugbere 3

ii. Codification of such rules in the form of criminal laws.

iii. A deviation from the rules or violation of the laws.
iv. Prescription of sanctions or punishment
v. Establishment of agencies of formal controls like the police
force to perform regulatory functions.

CAUSES OF CRIME

There are several studies and correspondingly many schools of thought on

the causes of crime in the society. Some of these causative factors which I
refer to as foundations of crime, are summarized below:

i. Biological Foundation

Prominent advocates of this school are Cesare Lombroso and

Enrico Ferri, and have argued that criminals are biologically inferior
individuals (salvages and apes), insensitive to pain, excessively idle,
lovers of orgies, with an irresistible craving for evil for its own sake.
Criminality to them is characteristic of people at primitive stages of
biological evolution, who are overly indulgent of their animal instincts,
while subordinating their productive energies to the immediate
gratification of these instincts.

The biological school believes that genetics traits underlie human

behaviour, and that a substantial fraction of human behavioural
variation is based on genetic differences. A predisposition towards
crime is seen as a genetic inheritance. Each individual is genetically
unique, and distinguished by brain code and biochemical impulses.
Brain code, biochemical abnormalities of the brain or neurological
disorders may explain why it is difficult for some individuals to learn the
right values and norms of the society and their predisposition to crime,
aggressive or aberrant behavior.

ii. Social Disorganization Foundation

The thrust of this school is that there is a nexus between increasing

urbanization and social dislocation or disorganization of individuals,
leading to aberrant behaviour like crime. The school observes that the
societies of the world are witnessing increasing urbanization arising
from constant migration of people from small towns and rural settings to
large-scale urban industrialized areas. The resultant effect is that social
institutions are having difficulty of absolving mass movements to the
cities resulting in the break down of social order and various forms of
crime.

Charles H. Cooley8 observes that movement from rural to urban

area is disorganizing, destructive and a frustrating experience for

8
Charles H. Cooley, Social Organization (New York: Shoken Books, 1962), p.5

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4 Crime Prevention

individuals who have been accustomed to stable traditional primary

group relationships of rural life. He argues that the impersonal
relationship that dominates urban life frustrates attainment of goals by
the individual and consequently increases his primitive impulses to
aggressivity and crime. Robert E. Park and Ernest W. Burgess attribute
this to the unstable character of the immigrants striving to live in two
diverse cultures, the one he leaves behind in the rural setting and the
urban one where his values and behaviour are in constant conflict with
the more privileged class. Another consequence of this social
disorganization is that, as parents migrate to the urban areas leaving
their families behind, children lose the opportunity of adequate
inculcation with the norms of the society. This is attributed to rising
delinquency, irrational and disruptive behaviour amongst children.

iii. Social Inequality Foundation

One of the commonly shared values in a society is the idea that

individuals have equal access to the available resources and
opportunities. The main rule of conduct in this context is meritocracy,
whereby whatever the individual achieves is seen to have been
merited. Failure to achieve is considered not to be the result of denial
of opportunity, but due perhaps to the individual’s incapability or
inadequacy to succeed in the competitive environment. But modern
society is much more marked by the social stratification. Class
distinction is becoming more pronounced due principally to unequal
access to the resources of states. Those who accept the values of
meritocracy and equal access soon find that not to be real after all. The
ensuing frustration may be expressed in the form of crime. Merton
describe this situation as a state of anomie, which is characterized by
the inability of the individual to attain internalized values with accepted
or available opportunities in the state, which may well trigger off deviant
conduct.

iv. Economic Foundation

Mismanagement of a national economy lowers the standard of

living of the people, causes general poverty, creates mass
unemployment, brings about social dislocation, and accentuates rivalry
and competition for the few available resources and opportunities.
Those who feel deprived of the economic fortunes of the country are
definitely going to display non-conformity with the situation and non-
compliance with the rules of conduct. The deprivation will therefore
instigate the disadvantaged group to take to crime, against perceived
perpetrators of the economic injustice. This explains why perhaps
white jobless youths either out of idleness or hopelessness, often taken
to armed robbery or other violent crimes, including vandalization of
public property.

v. Political Foundation

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DCP Walter J. Rugbere 5

The political foundation of crime could derive from the activities of

political actors and unpopular political decisions. For instance, where
elections are rigged, the outcome will be seriously contested usually
ending up in violence. The political party that is crookedly cheated out
of the power game will never accept the legitimacy of the party that
rigged itself into power. As a consequence, the aggrieved party will
embark on violent protests and plots to undermine the political
opponent. The unpalatable result has always been massive destruction
of property and assassination of opponents.

Political decisions and actions considered irrational and insensitive

to local situations have also been potential sources of discord and crisis
in the society. For instance, in the past we had instances where
government located local government headquarters in one area and
almost immediately relocated it to another. The ill feelings generated
by this have often brought about clashes between communal groups
and perpetration of various crimes against each other.

vi. Cultural Foundation

Culture consists of all the values, beliefs and norms of the people,
and defines their social behavior. Robert Williams observes that culture
is to social behaviour of people what gene pools are to living
organisms. Culture gives a unique variation to people and makes great
difference among individuals. Societies with uniform culture are often
identified with uniform sets of value and standard rules of conduct. In a
multi-cultural environment, the values and norms of the people are
often different, and cultural conflicts are a common feature. As we have
witnessed in our own experience in Nigeria, non-uniformity of culture
underlies ethnic and religious rivalry and disturbances in the country.

vii. Value System Foundation

Honestly, probity and transparency in the conduct of individuals

both in their private and public lives, are virtues shared among all
nations of the world. In absence of these values, unethical conducts
like corruption, graft and fraudulent practices, will dominate all
segments of the society. The rules of conduct will be circumvented to
achieve the selfish ends of the individuals, and this will further entrench
social inequality in the society with all its attendant negative
consequences.

viii. Technological Foundation

Technology has no doubt brought about remarkable changes in all

the facets of human life. For instance, automobiles have improved
transportation, and shorten distances from one place to another.

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6 Crime Prevention

Computer-directed machines now facilitate and increase production in

factories. Internet and E-mails services are making much easier
communications, contacts, interactions and businesses transactions
across nations. Technology and genetic sciences have revolutionalized
agriculture and food production. However, the use of technology is also
shrinking jobs and contributing to rising urbanization with resultant
erosion of traditional ties. When jobs are mechanized, many workers
are usually rendered jobless. All of these constitute a strong motivation
to commit crime. For instance, I have earlier argued that joblessness
more than anything else, is a major factor behind youth involvement in
crime.

ix. Victimological Foundation

The victim of a crime is the individual against whom the particular

offence is committed. But victimological school contends that in some
instances, the cause of crime has to be blamed on the victim himself;
crime is self-imposed. An example is given of a person in a hotel lobby
or at a telephone booth, discussing loudly on the phone and the person
at other end of where he is coming from at the moment; what he is
presently doing; what he intends to do further; how he is going about it;
where he will do it; what he will carry’; which direction he will take, and
when he will round off. By this, the individual would have unconsciously
disclosed so much information to the people about himself, some of
whom could be criminals. If eventually he is waylaid and disposed of
whatever he is carrying, then the fault obviously is his.

EXTERNALLY PROPELLED CRIME

The first set of causes of crime stated above has to do with those that crop
up from within the society. They could be referred to as internally induced
factors, emanating from the incapacity of the society and the biological
deficiencies or social circumstances of the individuals.

However, there are also crimes that are typical evidence of diffusion
– the flow of crime from societies with high concentration of crime
characterized by social pressure of need and disorder, to countries of lower
concentration identified with availability of opportunities as evidence of
lower pressure of need. A typical example of this is our recent experience
with the Republic of Benin, where criminals like Hammani Tidjani was
sponsoring bandits to Nigeria to snatch exotic vehicles. Recently too, the
police had to return more than two hundred children aged between 4 and
18 years, smuggled from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria and engaged in
force labour.

FUNCTIONS OF THE POLICE

In the case of Nigeria, the functions or powers of the police are provided in
Police Act No. 23 of the Laws of the Federation, 1990 and are as follows:

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DCP Walter J. Rugbere 7

i. The prevention and detection of crime.

ii. The protection of life and property
iii. The apprehension of offenders
iv. The preservation of law and order
v. The due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which
they are directly charged, and
vi. Perform such military duties within or without Nigeria as
may be required of them by or under the authority of the
Head of State (President).

We will find a correlation between the above stated functions of the

Nigeria Police and the Ten Objectives of a Police system enunciated by
John Anderson in his book, Policing Freedom, which are as follows:

“To contribute towards liberty, equality and fraternity in human

affairs; To help reconcile freedom with security and uphold the rule
of law; To facilitate human dignity through upholding and protecting
human rights and the pursuit of happiness; To provide leadership
and participation in dispelling criminogenic social conditions through
cooperative social actions; To contribute towards the creation or re-
enforcement of trust in communities; To strengthen the security of
persons and property and the feeling of security of persons; To
investigate, detect and activate prosecution of offences within the
rule of law; To facilitate free passage and movements on highways
and roads and on streets and avenues open to public passage; To
curb public disorder and finally, to deal with major and minor crisis
and to help advise those in distress, where necessary, activating
other agencies” 9

It should be noted however, that Anderson sets a precondition that

will facilitate the effective discharge of the above stated objectives. The
society where the objectives are realizable is one that is free, permissive
and participatory.

THE NIGERIA POLICE AND CRIME PREVENTION METHODOLOGY

The primary task of the police as have been earlier pointed out is how to
ensure that crime is maintained at tolerable level. This is the pass-mark
that every police organization fights to attain; it is usually an assessment
that comes through public opinion.

There are two principal ways of achieving tolerable crime control in

the society. One is the conventional police crime control strategies, which
include pro-active (preventive) and detective methods while the second is
policy initiative (strategizing).

9
John Anderson, Policing Freedom, (Plymouth: McDonald and Evan Ltd. Estour, 1979), p.18

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8 Crime Prevention

i. Preventive method

Preventive measures are often adopted by the police to forestall the

opportunity or avenue for committing crime. This is in appreciation of the
fact that it is cheaper to prevent crime than to detect. The cost in human
and property that may be lost on an un-prevented crime could in most
cases be irreparable, and may well affect the reputation of the Police Force
as an effective instrument of law enforcement. So the police have over
time adopted pro-active measures to curtail crime nationwide. The
strategies adopted are as follows:

a) Patrol – motorized, foot, aerial, sea and border patrols, including

use of force animals.
b) Surveillance of buildings and suspected criminals.
c) Cultivation of informants; and intelligence gathering on criminal
individuals, associates including receivers of loots, operational
hideouts, targets, activities, mode of operations and disposal of
loots.
d) Decoy methods
e) Incognito operations
f) Raiding of criminal hideouts
g) Arrest and quizzing of suspected criminals
h) Timely checks on pieces of information on suspects and
likelihood of commission of a crime.
i) Police-public cooperation (Community policing).
j) Inter-Service cooperation/Agency cooperation.
k) Stimulation of crime situations.

ii. Detective method

There are crimes that always will escape police preventive strategies. When
such crimes occur they are usually subjected to investigations by the police
who are usually guided by the following principles.

a) Ensuring that investigations are thoroughly and exhaustively

carried out.
b) Ensuring that the facts about a crime are carefully assembled
and closely examined
c) Ensuring that suspects are rigorously questioned and their
statements taken.
d) Ensuring that witnesses’ statements are also recorded
e) Ensuring that exhibits are collected, labeled and safely kept.
f) Ensuring neat compilation of case files.
g) Seeking legal advice, where necessary.
h) Ensuring diligent execution.
POLICY THRUST OF THE PRESENT POLICE ADMINISTRATION IN
NIGERIA

As we all know, a policy is a course or principle of action often enunciated to

achieve stated objectives of an organization. It is an alternative strategy

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DCP Walter J. Rugbere 9

adopted after a careful evaluation of current decisions, programs and

actions in pursuing set goals. Policy alternatives reflect prevailing
conditions, challenges and demands of operational environment, and are
quite often holistic in nature, as they tend to reshape existing but ineffectual
policies, taking due cognizance of their weakness and shortcomings. A
policy alternative therefore, is a tool for empowering an organization with
regards to its assigned authority, power and resources in achieving target
tasks.

In the case of the Nigeria Police Force, the new management of the
Force headed by Mr. Tafa Balogun IGP, CFR, NPM, fwc, Inspector-General
of Police was confronted with a high wave of crime upon assumption of
office in March 2002. Armed robbery and other violent crimes, including
cross-border banditry were on the increase, far beyond the tolerance level of
the public. There were rampant crises ranging from ethnic clashes to
religious disturbances, labour and student unrest. Ethnic militias were quite
visible and operational on the scene. All of these overstretched the capacity
of the police to cope, resulting in dwindling public confidence in the delivery
capability of the Force.

The immediate task of the new management team was therefore to

revitalize the Force through policy substitution and substantiation, aimed at
repositioning and refocusing the force towards attaining higher achievement
rate. Much more disturbing was the fact that the management inherited a
force where the personnel had become so disgruntled about conditions of
service that the junior ranks had to go on strike.

As it was, the operational environment of the police, which the

management team therefore met on ground, was not an enabling one; as it
was adversarial both externally and internally. It was to reverse this trend
and win back the confidence and support of the public, and more importantly
the loyalty and dedication of policemen, that the Force came up with an 8-
point agenda of a holistic nature, carefully designed to revamp all the ailing
parts of the force.

THE 8-POINT AGENDA is as follows:

i. Massive onslaught against armed robbery, gruesome

murder/assassination and other crimes of violence, the methodology
for this is “Operation Fire-for-Fire”.
ii. Fast and decisive crisis/conflict management.
iii. Comprehensive training programme
- conducive for qualitative policing.
vi. Serious anti-corruption crusade
- both within and outside the force.
v. Robust public relations - necessary for our vision of people’s police.
vi. Community partnership in policing
- the modern approach all over the world.
vii. Inter-service/agency cooperation
- at all levels – down the line.

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10 Crime Prevention

viii. Improved conditions of service and enhanced welfare package for

all officers, inspectors and rank and file.

As can be discerned from the agenda, the Force realizes that its
reputation and continued relevance lies squarely in its ability to combat
crime, especially violent crime in the country. In putting together the
policy agenda therefore, due cognizance was taken of the fact that the
contributions of other sectors of the country especially major stakeholders in
internal security, will help energize the Force and facilitate its ability to cope
with crime control. The policy thrust gives prime place to the welfare of
personnel who, like in any other organization, are the active agents that
make things work. Public support for police operations is also considered
very imperative with part of the policy agenda, focusing on robust public
relations intentioned to advance police-public understanding and
cooperation to a higher level of mutual benefit.

The Nigeria Police is presently executing this agenda with utmost

scrupulousness and seriousness so that its values as a better alternative to
strengthening the internal security of the country can be validated through
concrete and verifiable evidence of achievement and resultant falling crime
rates.

Manifest decline in crime rate coupled with numerous successes

recorded by the Police since the inception of the present Police leadership
are eloquent testimonies to justify the 8-point agenda as a well considered
strategy option that is serving right and adequate.

POLICE OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS

Though the Nigerian Government has been doing a lot to improve the
delivery capability of the Force, there are still some areas demanding
serious attention, which now constitute constraints militating against the
efficient and effective crime prevention efforts of the force, as highlighted
below:

a) Inadequate arms and ammunition and riot control equipment for

distribution to Formations/Commands throughout the Federation;
b) Inadequate communication equipment, like telephones, radio,
hand-sets for use especially by our field operatives
c) Manpower shortage;
d) Lack of serviceable boats/ launches and standard jetties in the
riverine areas of the Federation;
e) Inadequate funding of all sections of the Force;
f) Inadequate workshop equipment and tools at the transport and
communication departments;
g) Inadequate logistic support and infrastructure such as vehicles,
motor-cycles, office equipment like computer accessories,
stationery, etc.

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A FORWARD LOOK TO 2010

Between now and 2010 and indeed in the years after, the police will
continue to increase its performance standards in the following areas:

i. Pro-activity

For effective discharge of our primary task of crime control, we are aiming
at attaining 75% police pro-activity rate in years ahead. We should be able
to achieve this through the well-coordinated crime prevention machinery we
have in place, which involves intensified intra-city/highway patrols by foot,
motorcycles and vehicles, surveillance on key and vulnerable points,
including NEPA, NNPC and NITEL installations, increased intelligence
gathering on ethnic militias, notorious flashpoints across the country like the
Niger Delta region, and states prone to religious crises, armed robbery,
trans-border banditry and criminal hideouts, etc.

ii. Response Time

The Nigeria Police also plan to raise police response time to distress calls
to not more than three minutes. We intend to achieve this through
communication facilities like telephones and radio communication
equipment that are being upgraded and expanded at all police formations
and stations nationwide.

iii. Computerization

The force has commenced phased implementation of a long-term

programme of computerization of its operations, especially its crime control
activities, to enhance information storage and facilitate retrieval of data for
both routine administrative, planning and operational purposes. Training in
computer appreciation is currently going on in our colleges, and through
seminars and workshops. The idea is to make every police officer
computer literate in the next few years, to enhance efficiency in the
discharge of duties.

iv. Equipment Holding

Our operational equipment, especially patrol vehicles, arms, ammunition,

and anti-riot facilities, is grossly inadequate. Government is however
steadily increasing our logistic holdings, and we are working towards
attaining the standard patrol practice of developed countries, of two police
officers per patrol vehicle, or a police officer to a patrol vehicle.
v. Manpower

Our strength presently stands at about two hundred and ninety-two

thousand (292,000) officers and men, which is still inadequate for effective
policing of the entire country. However, our manpower situation will

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12 Crime Prevention

improve significantly by the year 2010 with the ongoing recruitment of forty
thousand (40,000) policemen per annum.

vii. Man - Material Permutation (MMP)

We will continue to use the concept of Man-Material Permutation (MMP) in

determining the form and size of the combination of men and logistics in the
execution of our operations as this has assisted us in reducing waste,
depletion and depreciation of equipment, and enhance the efficiency of men
and effectiveness during operations.

viii. Better Inter-service Cooperation

We will also in the years ahead continue to pursue vigorously Inter-

Service/Agency Cooperation. Our commitment to this objective has been
quite rewarding, as we are today enjoying better information flow and
exchange of intelligence between the police and other services. The
existing cordiality has helped to foster joint security operational planning,
review and execution, and minimize unnecessary rivalry, antagonism,
conflicts and misunderstanding, which were quite common amongst the
junior ranks in the past.

ix. Community Policing

We have also commenced the idea of the police working in partnership with
the communities they serve to enhance performance and quality services.
The idea is to institute a people’s police that will work with the people and
for the people. This we believe will foster better social relations between
the police and community members, increase knowledge of the policing
needs of the communities, and through the collaborative efforts raise
performance level of the police. Already, a number of police officers have
been trained in London and the U.S. on how to adapt and apply community
policing concept to our environment. It is envisaged that by the year 2010,
the concept will have gained wide practice, popularity and public support.

CONCLUSION

Crime is a dynamic phenomenon and a persistent social problem

worldwide. It is tied to the stability, survival, growth and development of any
country. Real and potential threat to internal security in Nigeria make crime
prevention an issue of constant review and discussion. This is better
understood when one takes into cognizance the escalating wave of violent
crimes, and it’s consequence of fear, tension, frustration, stress and feeling
of hopelessness in our various countries.
I have to say that no Police Force in the world can claim total
perfection in her activities and methods, but review and fine-tuning when
and where necessary will always ensure criminal activities are ever under
check. As you all probably are aware, the Police is like the proverbial
chicken which sweats but can not be noticed because of its feather.

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DCP Walter J. Rugbere 13

Much as we work hard to sustain internal peace locally, the Force

has been up and doing to withstand pressures from neighboring states, in
order to control cross–border violence and even international crimes
generally. This is because the measure of internal peace enjoyed by any
nation is also a factor of the external grace that country can boast of from
close and distant neighbouring states. Taking Africa as the cornerstone of
Nigeria’s foreign policy, the Police have been caring the neighbouring
countries along in our crusade. The Force in regional cooperation through
the International Criminal Police Organization [ICPO/INTERPOL] and the
West African Committee of Chiefs of Police [WACCPO] is achieving
success in solving cases of unresolved investigations, the disappearance of
thousands of stolen vehicles and properties. It is pertinent to reiterate that
the Police is playing a pivotal role in maintenance of internal security in all
its ramifications.

Though Nigeria is faced with monumental problem in the social,

political and economic spheres, there is a national and workable model to
take Nigeria out of the quagmire of underdevelopment and poverty. Nigeria
is a plural society of nationalities and cultures, a potential economic
powerhouse with diverse human and capital resources and strategic
location in the international arena. The Nigeria Police has been playing and
will continue to play that vital role of making our nation safe and secure for
genuine businesses, more so in our present democratic dispensation.

Journal of the Kuala Lumpur Royal Malaysia Police College, No. 3, 2004