IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bjc/journl/v11y2024i7p630-642.html

Community Policing and Crime Prevention in Ekiti State: Interrogating the State Police Option

Author

Listed:
  • Falusi Fisayo Samuel

    (Department of Peace and Security Studies, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti)

  • Omoyeni Tolulope Julius.

    (Department of Peace and Security Studies, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti)

  • Olabamiji Aminat Abiodun

    (Department of Peace and Security Studies, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti)

Abstract

In recent years, the rising tide of insecurity in Ekiti State has necessitated a reevaluation of traditional policing methods Despite Ekiti State being relatively peaceful, the recent uptick in crime, particularly kidnappings, mirrors a broader national trend in Nigeria. This study examines the effectiveness of community policing as a strategic response to these emerging security challenges, alongside the ongoing debate on establishing a state police force. Traditionally, policing in Nigeria has been reactive, which has often led to strained relations between the police and the public. The adoption of community policing by the Nigeria Police Force in 2004 marked a shift towards a community-focused approach, aimed at fostering better relationships and proactively addressing crime. Through a comprehensive analysis of crime trends, community engagement practices, and law enforcement dynamics, this research critically evaluates the potential of community policing to enhance local safety and trust. Additionally, it interrogates the debate on the institutionalization of state police within the federal system adopted by Nigeria, exploring the feasibility, advantages, and pitfalls of instituting a state police. Survey method was adopted for this study to generate responses from the 425 respondents randomly selected for this study. Data were analysized using frequency and percentage. Drawing on data generated, the findings demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between community participation and law enforcement efficacy, while the adoption of state police could be beneficial in the long run, its adoption could be counterproductive if abused by power drunk executive governor. This research study therefore recommend a grassroots participation and locally tailored policing frameworks that can significantly contribute to crime prevention and truly reflect the police mantra in Nigeria “police is your friend†that could bolster Ekiti State’s security architecture, promoting sustainable peace and development amidst rising security concerns. The Implementation of a national pilot state police program in select states across Nigeria will go a long way in testing the feasibility of National implementation of state police in addressing contemporary security challenges in Ekiti State and Nigeria in general.

Suggested Citation

  • Falusi Fisayo Samuel & Omoyeni Tolulope Julius. & Olabamiji Aminat Abiodun, 2024. "Community Policing and Crime Prevention in Ekiti State: Interrogating the State Police Option," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 11(7), pages 630-642, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bjc:journl:v:11:y:2024:i:7:p:630-642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrsi/digital-library/volume-11-issue-7/630-642.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrsi/articles/community-policing-and-crime-prevention-in-ekiti-state-interrogating-the-state-police-option/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Weisburd & John E. Eck, 2004. "What Can Police Do to Reduce Crime, Disorder, and Fear?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 593(1), pages 42-65, May.
    2. Saidu, Badamasi & Rasheed, Zuwaira Haruna & Ahmad Zakuan, Ummu Atiyah Binti & Haji Yusoff, Kamarul Zaman Bin, 2019. "Restructuring and the Dilemma of State Police in Nigeria: to Be or Not to Be?," Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, CSRC Publishing, Center for Sustainability Research and Consultancy Pakistan, vol. 5(1), pages 41-50, June.
    3. Tom R. Tyler, 2004. "Enhancing Police Legitimacy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 593(1), pages 84-99, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alvin M. Tamayo, 2025. "Trust and Perceived Safety in Relation to Satisfaction with Police Services," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(6), pages 1359-1371, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Avital Mentovich & Guy Ben‐Porat & Natalie Levy & Phillip A. Goff & Tom Tyler, 2020. "Policing alienated minorities in divided cities," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 531-550, July.
    2. Lucía Tiscornia, 2024. "Police reform in the aftermath of armed conflict: How militarization and accountability affect police violence," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 383-397, May.
    3. Jaynes, Chae M. & Lee, Jacqueline G. & Moule, Richard K., 2024. "Testing racial and ethnic differences in the correlates of court legitimacy," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Matthew Manning & Christopher L. Ambrey & Christopher M. Fleming & Shane D. Johnson, 2018. "The Impact of Field Court Attendance Notices on Property Crime in New South Wales, Australia," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 971-998, December.
    5. David Weisburd & Charlotte Gill, 2014. "Block Randomized Trials at Places: Rethinking the Limitations of Small N Experiments," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 97-112, March.
    6. Croci, G. & Gomez, J., 2025. "Breaking the cycle: The role of the criminal justice system in understanding homicide rates," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. David Weisburd, 2005. "Hot Spots Policing Experiments and Criminal Justice Research: Lessons from the Field," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 599(1), pages 220-245, May.
    8. Crifasi, Cassandra K. & Williams, Rebecca G. & Booty, Marisa D. & Owens-Young, Jessica L. & Webster, Daniel W. & Buggs, Shani A.L., 2022. "Community perspectives on gun violence and safety: The role of policing in Baltimore City," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    9. Thomas J. Holt, 2018. "Regulating Cybercrime through Law Enforcement and Industry Mechanisms," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 679(1), pages 140-157, September.
    10. Leslie W. Kennedy & Joel M. Caplan & Eric Piza, 2011. "Risk Clusters, Hotspots, and Spatial Intelligence: Risk Terrain Modeling as an Algorithm for Police Resource Allocation Strategies," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 339-362, September.
    11. Luis Chanci & Subal C. Kumbhakar & Luis Sandoval, 2024. "Crime under-reporting in Bogotá: a spatial panel model with fixed effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(5), pages 2105-2136, May.
    12. Travis Curtice, 2023. "Co-ethnic bias and policing in an electoral authoritarian regime: Experimental evidence from Uganda," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(3), pages 395-409, May.
    13. Daphna Lewinsohn‐Zamir & Ilana Ritov, 2025. "The Distance Factor in Remedies," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(3), pages 270-297, September.
    14. Andrea Hazelwood, M.S. & Wilcox, Pamela, 2025. "Out of sight: Contextualizing risk avoidant routine activity," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Abby Córdova & Lucía Tiscornia, 2025. "Law enforcement at the margin of the law: Information provision and support for militarization in Mexico," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 62(5), pages 1428-1446, September.
    16. Kang, Songman & Kim, Duol, 2022. "Focus vs. spread: Police box consolidation and its impact on crime in Korea," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Xiaoyun Wu & Cynthia Lum, 2017. "Measuring the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Police Proactivity," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 915-934, December.
    18. Xiaoyun Wu & Christopher Koper & Cynthia Lum, 2022. "Measuring the Impacts of Everyday Police Proactive Activities: Tackling the Endogeneity Problem," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 343-363, June.
    19. Teresa Greiwe & Ardavan Khoshnood, 2022. "Do We Mistake Fiction for Fact? Investigating Whether the Consumption of Fictional Crime-Related Media May Help to Explain the Criminal Profiling Illusion," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    20. Nielson, Kyler R. & Zhang, Yan & Ingram, Jason R., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on police officer activities," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bjc:journl:v:11:y:2024:i:7:p:630-642. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Renu Malsaria (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrsi/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.