Community Police Now An Imperative

by AnaedoOnline
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Nigeria’s past, present and even the future, makes the establishment and operation of federal, state and local government policing or law enforcement un-debatably mandatory! Nigeria needs and should have federal police, state police and local police!

It just makes sense! The local people, the local authorities know the neighborhoods, the local people and local circumstances better!

The advent of military form of government, it was that turned the three-tier federal system on its head, with Nigeria remaining a federal system in name only.

The military unlike in democracy had a command structure from the federal levels to state right to local governments.

They were compelled to do the bidding of the federal military government centrally controlled, without dissension; this was to be expected, as military orders are to be obeyed!

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It is time for us to jettison all misgivings about state governments misusing or abusing their control over the police command for the greater good, but of course with adequate safeguards to prevent such.

In America, there is the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Firearms and Tobacco, the Secret Service and the National Security Agency. There are also the Customs, the Drug Enforcement Agency, US Postal Police etc.

All these are federal law enforcement agencies that take care of mostly domestic crimes and the Central Intelligence Agency takes care of mostly overseas espionage and enforcement of US policies wishes.

All the 50 states have individual state police that enforce state laws and regulations, without much interference from the federal law enforcements. New York City is like Lagos Island or Lagos Mainland Local Government, and has its own Police Department of about 40,000- strong personnel.

Nigeria needs aggressive, fair and new paradigm of policing. Imagine sending a guy who cannot swim to be a marine police officer in Burutu, Bomadi or Epe or such other ravine areas of Nigeria?

Does it not make more sense to send a police woman or man who, in additional to mastering the tricks of swimming are very much at home with the marshlands?

Is it not easier for someone from Numa to know who the trouble makers in Numa? Is it not likely that the policewoman or man from Damaturi or Gombe knows the trouble makers in their towns?

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Local policing not only makes logistical and law enforcement sense, it is also more cost effective as the treasury will then spared the expense of moving federal police officers from state to state in Nigeria, and also the expense of accommodating moved police officers.

Policing in Nigeria urgently need reforms, including but, not limited to the establishment of state and local police departments, the establishment of Civilian Complaints Review Boards or Commissions in every state and Local Government Areas to oversee and act as safeguard against police misconduct, police abuse or brutalities. Nigeria will save money doing all these and the police will regain their needed respect.

Lives and property will then be secure and insecurity will be a thing of the past! Effectiveness will result from decentralization hence the formation of state and local government police is the way to go.

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Source: Nation

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