IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY POLICING IN NIGERIA

By CP Austin Iwar, MSc, FCMI, FInstLM

Introduction
It is critical for us to understand that countries emerging from long
years of military dictatorships always experience periods of rapid and
fast-phased socio-economic and political changes affecting state
structures and institutions. These changes challenge current thinking in
governance and democracy, demanding reforms. Of critical importance
to these changes is the development and sustenance of a strong police
institution built on democratic principles. As an emerging democracy,
any reform in policing must take into account the role of the police in
facilitating and perpetuating democratic values and practices. The
fundamental functions of the police service are the protection of life and
property, the maintenance of public tranquility and the prevention and
detection of crime.

In Nigeria, historical, media and social science literature on police and

policing indicate that the colonial police forces that existed in various
parts of the country at different times between 1861 and 1960 were
involved in brutal suppression of the indigenous peoples (Alemika and
Chukwuma 2000; Alemika 1988; Ahire 1991; Rotimi 1993; Odekunle
1979; Tamuno 1970). The colonial administrations used them to
maintain the exploitation and repression of labour. According to Tamuno
(1970:220) “in some cases the police used batons, rifles and revolvers
to suppress, maim and kill persons who opposed colonial rule and
policies”. Tamuno further notes, “the police earned the displeasure of
some trade union leaders and members, a factor which did not promote
good public relations as far as workers were concerned”. Alemika
(1988:176) further elucidates on the point that “colonial police forces in
Nigeria were organized and oriented to behave as occupation forces –
ruthless, brutal, corrupt, dishonest and prone to brutalizing the colonized
peoples and vandalizing their properties”.

After Nigeria’s independence, rather than reorient the police towards

embracing democratic values, subsequent post-colonial ‘democratic’ and

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military administrations used the police to enforce all sorts of
authoritarian and anti-people laws and practices, further deepening the
culture of violence that the police had inherited. Therefore, for most of
its existence, Nigeria has been governed through non-democratic
institutions and processes. The police are central to governance
because, it is their duty to enforce the laws of the government in power.
If the citizens view the laws as authoritarian or illegitimate, the
enforcers (the police) will be scorned (Alemika, 1988). Thus, the police
in Nigeria have always being viewed and characterized as brutal, corrupt
and ineffective. Lack of cooperation between the police and the public
has negatively impacted on the performance of the police, as well as
society’s capacity to effectively prevent and control crime.

Rationale for Adopting Community Policing

The reasons for adopting the more proactive approach inherent in
community policing are both philosophical and pragmatic. At the
philosophic level, any police organization 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 characterized by the notion of “police
service” rather than “police force” where the most significant
benchmarks of performance is public satisfaction, trust and confidence.

At the pragmatic level, overwhelming evidence suggests that the

traditional approach to policing tends to be inherently reactive and law-
enforcement based which invariably leads to isolation/alienation of the
community. The inevitable outcome is that image of the police suffers;
public confidence declines and citizens withdraw their voluntary support
and cooperation.

According to Bayley (2005), “community policing is based on the fact

that the ability of the police to control crime through law enforcement
based exclusively on their own resources is limited”. Funding, therefore,
provides another pragmatic and compelling reason to pursue a
community policing style. Generally, because of competing demands on
public funds for health, roads, defence, energy, schools, portable water

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etc, government alone may not be able to meet all the needs of its
security agencies; hence the need for partnership, which is emphasized
in community policing.

In addition, police need to have information from the public in order to

deter crime. Accordingly, if the public does not report crime, the police
cannot take action against it. The public can also provide information
about conditions that lead to crime in their communities, enabling the
police to focus their crime prevention on people, places and situations.
Globalization too has changed everything. There are now no boundaries
and no localized geographical zones. In short, the world is no longer a
global village but a ‘global sitting – room’ as one commentator recently
put it. The impact and power of information and communication
technology requires that the police embrace best practices in
enforcement of laws, investigations, policing major events and humane
treatment of offenders among others. Nigerians are now exposed to the
Internet and therefore are demanding for good governance, which
translates to police ability to deliver quality service to its “clients” i.e. the
public.

Effective and efficient policing is part and parcel of good governance

where the poor, the elderly, children, women and other vulnerable
segment of the society are treated with respect and empathy. In a
nutshell, the civility of the police is part of the yardstick for judging the
perception of a country. In 21st century policing, the police have no
hiding place other than to brace up and face the challenges.

The introduction of community policing in Nigeria is therefore a

watershed in the development of democratic values and practices. With
staff strength of 314,000 the NPF is charged with providing services to a
widely diversified population of more than 140 million people. When the
country emerged from several years of military dictatorship to a
democracy, the police was increasingly burdened with the responsibility
of policing the transition and more importantly guaranteeing and
consolidating its fragile nature. As gatekeepers of the criminal justice
system, the competence of the police to provide services that guarantee

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swift access to justice will be in greater demand and Nigerians will
continue to insist on safety, security and protection from violence and
crime. Thus, community policing is a strategic step in transforming the
police and improving its performance and service delivery.

“Faced with this more sophisticated and enterprising criminal threat, our
emerging policing philosophy – community policing – recognizes that the
police alone do not have the necessary proactive or reactive capability
and capacity to meet the challenge. Thus, multi-agency and community
collaborations – through partnerships – become imperative. In
particular, countering serious crimes requires collaboration for those
functions where there is an operational and business imperative for joint
decisions”
(IGP Ogbonna Onovo, OON, mni, January 2010)

The implementation of the Nigerian Community Policing Project

To facilitate the implementation of the Nigerian Community Policing
Project, the British Department of International Development (DFID) in
2003, through its Security, Justice and Growth (SJG) programme,
facilitated a study tour of seven police officers to the United Kingdom
(UK) to examine examples of community policing in that country. Other
study tours facilitated by MacArthur Foundation were undertaken in the
Houston Police Department, US. On their return to Nigeria, these officers
were formed into a Community Policing Project Team, with the full
support of the then Inspector-General of Police (IGP). The Project Team
developed a Community Policing Project Plan (2004) with the following
aims:
 To facilitate the development of community policing throughout
Nigeria; and
 To examine the policies, strategies, structures and organization of
the Nigeria Police, to ensure that the applicable principles and core
values of community policing are enshrined in the professional
performance, ethics and codes of conduct of the Nigeria Police.

In addition to improving police community relations and developing the

enabling environment for joint problem solving, the second aim of the

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project was meant to enable a total transformation of the Force. Thus,
the Project Plan had six major elements that were interrelated and
formed the bedrock of the Nigerian model of community policing. These
elements were:
 Manage and deliver an awareness, sensitization and information
sharing campaign on community policing;
 Implement community policing training for officers in the States;
 Examine and develop current organizational structures to drive
community policing;
 Examine and develop the current training and development
function;
 Develop an intelligence-led policing style, including new
technology and science; and
 Examine laws, police processes and procedures.

The Inspector General of Police at the time and the Secretary to the
Federal Government both formally launched the Community Policing
Project in Enugu State in April 2004 and the change of the IGP in early
2005 did not visibly result in any diminution of support for this effort.
The Project Team then commenced a progamme of multi-rank
sensitization workshops for police personnel at federal and state levels
(5000 participants attended these series of workshops) and trained
more than 50 Community Policing Developers (CPDs). These CPD
officers were then deployed to targeted divisions in Enugu to launch a
programme geared to change attitudes and behaviours within both
police station personnel and surrounding communities. The report by
Stone, Miller, Thornton and Trone (2005) stated that, according to those
involved in the implementation of community policing, support from the
Enugu State Governor was one of several examples of increasing
government support at the state and federal levels for police reform in
Nigeria. It states that the advocates for the Community Policing Project
included the President, Minister of Police Affairs, the Police Council, the
Police Service Commission, the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, the
Police Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and the
Nigerian Bar Association.

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Following an assessment of the programme in Enugu State, in 2005, the
IGP Sunday Ehindero approved an extension of the community policing
pilot to cover five more states; Benue, Jigawa, Kano, Ondo and Ogun.

A report by Stone, Miller, Thornton and Trone (2005) stated that Nigeria
offers good examples of what has been possible to accomplish in the
safety and justice sectors in a situation where “conflict and violence in
various forms are a fact of life”.

Research commissioned by DFID in 2003 indicated that most Nigerians

had no confidence in the national police (DFID Report, 2003). The
respondents said that whilst they would prefer to have a professional
police service, they mostly relied on informal policing systems whose
members often behave as vigilantes. For similar reasons, the
programme emphasized work with traditional justice, alternative dispute
resolution, and lower courts, on which poor people depend.

The SJG programme then focused its development activities on five key
areas in the States: NPF service delivery, police-community partnerships,
accountability of the NPF, empowerment of NPF personnel, and problem
solving. This development included the appropriate involvement of
Nigeria’s Informal Policing Structures (IPS – Neighbourhood Watch) in
the five key areas.

The Strategy and Philosophy of Community Policing

Community Policing is practiced around the world. It adopts four
essential strategies of responding to the needs and concerns of
individuals and communities, consulting with communities, mobilizing
communities, and solving recurring problems. These strategies are
designed to encourage the community to become partners in controlling
and preventing crime.

The study tours of both UK and US policing systems exposed the Project
Team to different perspectives and practices of community policing.
Nigeria’s approach to community policing was tailored to meet Nigeria’s
socio-cultural and multi-ethnic background. The Nigerian strategy places

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the community at the heart of policing. This presupposes that policing
should be based on the constitutional and legal responsibility of the
Police, which is to “protect life and property”. This most important
responsibility requires the police to respond to the needs of the
communities on the basis of partnership and problem solving between it
and the community.

Thus, the programme defines community policing as:

“both a philosophy and strategy, that allows the police and the
community to work together in new ways to solve problems of
crime, disorder and safety issues to improve the quality of life for
everyone in that community”.

The overall objective of this approach was to bring about the following:
 Change in police attitude and behaviours so that the police can be
humane and people-friendly;
 Rebuild public confidence, trust, and satisfaction in police
performance;
 Develop an effective partnership approach to tackling crime and
disorder;
 Improve the capacity of communities to develop solutions to local
problems;
 Improve the capacity of the police to deliver best quality service to
the public;
 Create a culture of police service excellence.

The emphasis ensures that communities are involved in identifying the

problems that impact on their quality of life, also that they are involved
in planning, proffering and implementing solutions to these problems.
Enforcing the law and fighting crime remain important elements of
policing, but community policing recognizes that, in reality, most police
work is oriented toward non-enforcement tasks such as maintaining
order and providing social services.

A fundamental requirement of community policing is a decentralized

neighbourhood based-structure and close relations with members of the

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community (Neighbourhood Policing – NP). In brief summary, this
requires empowered police personnel that have geographic ownership
and accountability. The IGP and his command team recognized that
community policing and NP enables intelligence-led targeting of the
issues that matter most to communities.

Intelligence-led Policing (ILP) requires the NPF to: interpret the crime
and disorder environment, including potential victims/targets; ensure
that police partners and police staff implement appropriate action plans;
and finally, guarantee that those actions have the required impact on
the crime and disorder environment.

Moreover, the NPF has the role of upholding the law, safeguarding
justice and protecting the lives, rights, and dignity of citizens and
visitors. It cannot achieve this gargantuan task without support.
Therefore, its community policing philosophy was developed to operate
as a key element of a wider, multi-partners Nigeria Community Safety
(CS) Strategy.

Characteristics of Community Policing

Effective community policing will evidence the following key principles:

Policing is both Visible and Accessible

i. Selected patrol officers are assigned permanently to small areas or
zones (usually called ‘beats’) with delegated responsibility for
policing that area;
ii. High visibility patrols are conducted, ordinarily on foot, to interact
with the public, gain the confidence and cooperation of citizens,
and develop local knowledge;
iii. The aim of patrol activity is to be preventive and provide pubic
reassurance;
iv. Patrolling must therefore be directed and focused on clear
objectives, not aimless and undirected;
v. The demeanour of patrol officers is such that citizens will feel able
to seek police assistance.

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Policing involves Community Consultation, Cooperation and
Interdependency
i. The police participate with the public at large in identifying and
prioritizing community needs;
ii. The police and community work in partnership to devise and
implement agreed solutions to problems;
iii. The community actively engage in the policing role through
volunteer schemes, initiating neighbourhood support networks and
augmenting police patrol activities.

Policing involves Multi-Agency Collaboration

i. The Police recognize that no statutory (or voluntary) body can
make a meaningful impact on social problems if it acts in isolation
disturbances to public tranquility;
ii. The police liaise and work together with other statutory agencies
and voluntary organizations in addressing crime and other
disturbances to public tranquility.

Policing is Essentially Proactive

i. The underlying causes of crime, incidents and public complaints are
analysed and identified;
ii. Rather than simply reacting to the incidence of crime, anti-social
behavior and other sources of public complaint, the police adopt a
systematic and integrated problem-solving approach with a view to
reducing and preventing the such incidents;
iii. Perception and actuality are treated with equal seriousness (e.g.
the ‘fear of crime’; public perception of police integrity and
competence);
iv. All police personnel and departments are involved in the problem-
solving process, contributing ideas and designing initiatives for
more effective policing.

Policing is Accountable
i. Police managers are open and accountable about policies,
strategies, operations and decisions affecting the community;

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ii. All police personnel are accountable for their professional and
personal standards and for their treatment of citizens;
iii. Policing effectiveness is monitored, evaluated and open to
scrutiny;
iv. Citizens with a grievance against the police have a means of
redress.

Policing is about Providing Quality of Service

i. Standards of service delivery are measured;
ii. Testing objectives are set for operational performance and public
satisfaction;
iii. The police develop a culture of service excellence.

Community Policing Principles and Values

i. The NPF Community Policing Model is based upon the following
key principles and values:
ii. Relies upon active partnership between the police and the
community;
iii. Ensures the police view their primary role as the provision of
quality service to the community.
iv. Entails that the police adopt a problem-solving approach to their
work;
v. Requires that the Police involve the community in deciding policing
priorities

Community policing therefore embraces the following values

i. Respect for and protection of human rights;
ii. Transparency and openness in relation to activities and
relationships within and outside the police organization;
iii. Demonstrable commitment at all times to deliver the best possible
service;
iv. Empowerment of all police personnel to make appropriate
decisions and thereby facilitate a speedy delivery of quality
service;
v. Willingness to seek for, listen to and act upon public opinion
relating to policing priorities;

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 vi. Accountability, where the police are properly answerable for what
they do, and citizens with a genuine sense of grievance against
the police have an effective means of redress;
vii. Ensure that citizens with a grievance against the police have
effective communication channels and redress.

Based on the above-mentioned characteristics of Community Policing,

the NPF predicated the implementation on five elements, which are:
i. Service Delivery: Improving the quality of policing service,
including crime reduction, access to justice and human rights.
ii. Partnership: Developing strategic partnerships, such as Police
Community Relations Committees (PCRC), community based
organizations, local authorities to improve police services. This is
also in recognition that police services are better delivered in
partnership.
iii. Problem Solving: A good partnership provides the platform for
problem solving. This involves finding joint sustainable solutions to
crime and disorder problems;
iv. Empowerment: Empowering communities to be part of dealing
with problems affecting their safety creates a sense of ownership.
This also requires developing a management style that empowers
officers to tackle issues locally. Empowerment reduces
administration, aids problem solving and improves accountability;
v. Accountability: Community policing establishes direct
accountability between the community and the police at a local
level as a result of the partnership. On the one hand,
accountability rests on the transparency of the police and, on the
other hand, on the responsibility of the community to assist the
police in preventing and combating crime and disorder. There is,
therefore, a joint responsibility and a joint accountability.

Recommendations of the Police Reform Committee

In 2008, the Federal Government set up the Presidential Committee on
Police Reform headed by MD Yusuf a former Inspector General of Police.
The Committee held extensive discussions and consultations with the
public and civil society organizations. It was clear to the Committee that

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the public was dissatisfied with the performance of the police, and that
what they wanted was police that was responsive to their needs and
concerns. It was clear that a fundamental transformation of the culture
and attitudes of the police was required. The Committee thereafter
made recommendations on the need to adopt community policing as a
national policing philosophy and strategy.

Recommendation 5.26 (i-iv) of the Government White Paper on the

Report of the Presidential Committee on Police Reform (April, 2008)
clearly articulates the basic parameters for the implementation of
Community Policing in Nigeria. It states that,
(i) “There is need to adapt community policing to suit Nigeria’s
peculiarities. Government should formulate a Community Policing Policy
and Framework for the country, taking into account our cultural and
political environment”.

Full compliance with this recommendation is in progress with the

support of the Ministry of Police Affairs. Both the Ministry and NPF are
working to develop a Community Policing Policy and Framework.
However, that a successful transition from philosophy to operational
practice calls for fundamental changes in the structure and culture of the
Nigeria police.

The report further requests that, (ii) ‘all police officers should undergo
training in the basic philosophy and practice of community policing”.
Substantial progress has also been made in this direction with more than
a hundred thousand police officers sensitized while many have
undergone one form of training or the other in all ranks covering senior
officers, divisional managers, beat duty officers, divisional intelligence
officers etc. (iii) The principle of community policing should be included
in the curricular of all police training institutions”. The concept of
community policing has already been included in the new police training
curricular.

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The Reform also defined community policing as a straightforward
concept of shared responsibility between the police and the community
with a focus on provision off efficient and effective service.

Government therefore accepted the recommendation that, (iv) “The

police should establish effective police-community linkages from the
lowest to the highest levels to ensure the implementation of crime
prevention strategies and policing priorities of the various communities”.
The inference infers the police participating in the community and
responding to the needs of that community, and the community
participating in its policing and supporting the police. One of the main
enablers of public partnership is the development and strengthening of
Police Community Relations Committees (PCRC) and various
Neighbourhood Watch schemes (Vigilante groups). In this regard,
extensive Stakeholder Conferences have been held in all states too
strengthen Police-Community partnerships.

Achievements and Challenges

The successes and challenges in the implementation of community
policing are detailed below. Various achievements have been recorded;
the most important being the development of partnerships between the
police and communities, increased community involvement and
interagency collaborations with key stakeholders.

i. Federal
The establishment of a Community Policing Office within ‘F’ Department
at Headquarters and the replication of that in all State Commands reflect
the commitment of the NPF to work with, care for and protect the
communities it serves. The Community Police Office has thirty-seven
(37) community policing officers/trainers spread in all the State
commands.

The ‘F’ Department is currently planning restructuring and development

activities to ensure the sustainability and institutionalization of
community policing and effective service delivery for the entire Force.
However, the strategic interest of the Force is not only in restructuring,

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but to develop the necessary skills, competences, attitudes and behavior
of police officers. Changing the current policing culture of militaristic
conditioning, hierarchical rigidity, lack of empowerment and ‘siege
mentality’ and defensiveness is fundamental to the successful
implementation of community policing. The Inspector General of Police
has consistently supported this attitudinal change as a means of
ensuring that the negative perception of the Force, including the
commonly held view that individual police officers are ineffective,
corrupt and brutal changed.

ii. State Level

“Community Policing is making a real difference in our State, we are

more proactive. We anticipate problems or conflict, then travel to speak
with those who may be involved, whatever the time of day. On each
occasion, the problem has not manifested”. (State Commissioner of
Police, Kaduna, several months after strategic management training in
Jos).

All State Commands now have functional Community Policing Offices

staffed with trained and experienced personnel, supporting and assisting
in the development of various aspects of community policing principles,
particularly partnerships, problem solving and intelligence led policing.
There has been increased level of partnerships developed at strategic
levels with other safety and security agencies, government and local
authorities, business community etc.

All the state commissioners of police have received training and

workplace support in strategic management, integrated management
planning and all aspects of community policing. Independent monitoring
visits to states have shown a variety of workplace successes, such as
improved police-community relations and active partnerships.

iii. Divisional Level

Until community policing we had to sleep with one eye open. Now we

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can sleep with both eyes shut. We pray that all of Nigeria adopts this
system! (Community member Gwagwalada, Nigeria).

Community Policing has been introduced to all the States of the

Federation. However, Police Divisions have been one of the key foci of
the implementation process, with massive sensitization and awareness
campaigns mounted for both police and communities by the Community
Policing Team. Moreover, existing divisional management structures
have been developed, through training programmes, to accommodate
community policing principles and practices. The concept of
Neighbourhood Policing with Dedicated Policing Teams (DPT) to manage
micro-beats has been introduced and the following personnel structures
have been established as primary drivers of improved service delivery:
Community Policing Developers (CPD)
Community Safety Officers (CSPs)
Human Rights Officers (HROs)
Community Policing Officers (CPOs)
Neighbourhood Watch Support Officers (NWSOs)
Divisional Intelligence Officers (DIOs)
Conflict Resolution Officers (CROs)]

The majority of these structures are in various stages of evolution.

However, independent and internal reviews have recorded good
progress.

Divisional Managers have wide discretionary powers concerning tactical

and operational issues affecting their divisions. However, because of the
traditional, hierarchical nature of micro-managing police stations, very
little input is sought from subordinates and the communities they police.
To combat this, Divisional Management Teams have been trained in
democratic policing principles, community policing, management and
leadership techniques, delegation, performance measurement,
performance management, action planning, partnerships, problem
solving techniques, accountability, police ethics and intelligence-led
policing. Additionally, the ‘F’ Department training teams provide support

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and mentoring post-trained to ensure maximum transference of learning
to the participant’s division.

Extensive sensitization and awareness campaigns have been conducted

for members of the public targeting Police Community Relations
Committees (PCRCs), neighbourhood watch groups, the media, National
Union of Road Transport Workers, market associations, motorcycle taxi
riders, parents-teachers association, community leaders and government
agencies dealing with safety and security issues.

The concept of problem solving is now extensively utilized by police

officers and their partners to deal with issues affecting their
environments. The problem-solving approach adopts a proactive
approach, while at the same time preserving the traditional practices.
This process follows four-structured system of (a) discovery of recurrent
problems, (b) analysis of the root causes of these problems, (c)
developing programmes of remediation, and (d) assessment of the
success of the remedial programmes. This strategic approach is
famously called SARA, for ‘scanning’, ‘analysing’, ‘responding’, and
‘assessment’.

Initiatives to get young people involved in community policing activities

have been organized, enabling them to play a key role in bringing about
safety for their communities.

Relationships with Voluntary Policing Systems (Neighbourhood Watch)

have also been developed or improved in many of the divisions, as
commented on by independent observers in Gwagwalada Division. There
are improved informal policing activities and joint patrols between
neighbourhood watch groups and the police.

‘In Gwaram, we had much trouble with the theft of our animals but the
police, traditional leaders and market traders came together to stop this
problem. The thefts have almost stopped now because there is nowhere
for the thieves to hide or sell their goods – some have even changed
their hearts and do not want to do it any more out of respect for the

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elders. I thank our police for this very much”
Community member, Gwaram (February 2010).

Police Divisions have also witnessed an increase in the number of

incidents reported to the police and dealt with. As the public feel, more
confident to report criminal incidents, the police have been able to deal
more effectively with these cases and provide feedback to the
community on the steps taken and progress made.

These activities have encouraged increased collaboration and

consultation between the police and communities in various aspects of
service delivery and community concerns. For example, the Enugu State
Government enacted a law on neighbourhood associations and watch
groups to support community policing and strengthen existing
relationships. This led to increased numbers of new neighbourhood
associations and watch groups coming into existence and old ones being
rejuvenated.

Specific Strategic Achievements

The Divisional Management Team (DMT) Course has been extended to
four weeks-two modules of two weeks each in between three weeks of
workplace assignment. The DMT members are required to implement
some of their learning in their divisions between the two Modules.
During the second Module, they present the successes and challenges of
their implementation to their colleagues and tutors for feedback and
further development. To date more thank four hundred Divisional Police
Officers (DPOs) have been trained. The Institute of Leadership and
Management, UK, has accredited this training and at the end of each
training, participants are offered Certificates in Advanced Management
and Leadership.

“Our DPO was so against community policing. She would not entertain
any change and was apathetic to it. Since she came back from her
advanced DMT course, she is a changed woman! We cannot keep up
with her and all her initiatives to work with the community and
implement problem oriented policing”.

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DSP Joseph Udoh, Community Policing Officer.

Training was conducted for commissioners of police in Lagos, Jos and

Calabar in line with the IGP approved plan for improving the capacity of
senior police management on strategic and change management. This
saw the police commissioners responding positively to the improvements
demanded by the IGP regarding strategic planning and organizational
improvement. Some of the commissioners were supported by the
Community Policing Officers to develop their policing plans. This process
initiated a sustainability process as well the embedding of community
policing and other best practices in the Nigeria Police.

Intelligence-led Policing (ILP) pilots have been introduced in 50 police

divisions across Lagos, FCT, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar, Bauchi, Kano,
Benue, Jigawa, Ogun and Ondo. Divisional Intelligence Officers (DIOs)
were trained in the concepts and processes of IILP and have been able
to transfer that learning to their divisions. This has led the police to re-
strategies the fight against crime in these areas with appreciable
success.

Beat duty skills training has been extended to about fifty thousand
(50,000) police officers in all police stations.

“I am putting into practice all I have learnt during my beat patrol

course. It has helped me and I am happy because I can touch people’s
lives, especially the less privileged members of society”.
PC Queen Ejike, New Owerri Police Division, Imo State.

As described in the introduction, the Community Policing philosophy is

being developed to operate as key element of a wider, multi-partners
Nigeria Community Safety (CS) Strategy. In pursuit of this goal,
Community Safety Partnerships have been introduced in all pilot police
division. This is in consonance with the principal of democratic policing
as citizens are now involved in community issues affecting their “quality
of life.” The senior representatives involved – from local government,
police, the communities and many other key agencies have made a

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commitment to work together in the future to gain a full understanding
of the local safety issues that affect their communities and work in a
partnership to resolve them.

The NPF has also witnessed an improved engagement with informal

policing service (IPS), as they are presently being consulted, briefed and
involved in activities at police stations. Many of these IPS have been
fully occupied in joint activities including training events, beat patrols
and problem solving.

“It now means something to be a vigilante in Gwagwalada, we are

trained and supported by the police and our leaders. We all feel good
and proud to be involved in the new Nigeria Police Service because their
hearts have changed – you understand? – their hearts have changed….”
Vigilante member, Gwagwalada, FCT

Challenges
Despite the encouraging level of successes recorded, the programme is
experiencing a number of challenges. Public trust in the police is still
low. Police reform will mean changing the way effective policing services
are delivered. Despites these, relations between the police and the
public have improved tremendously since the introduction of Community
Policing.
These challenges include:
 Lack of a National Policy: The lack of a strategic national policy
on community policing, with guidelines and implementation
mechanism has been a challenge in expanding to other states. The
lack of a national policy has created confusion as to what the
concept actually means in practice. Many police officers do not see
community policing as a policing philosophy and strategy but as an
add-on to police work;
 Capacity gaps: Whilst the skills and capacity of many police
officers has been improved, much more needs to be done to
sustain the reform and achieve critical mass. So many police
officers, state governments and communities have indicated

19
 interest in community policing activities, but a lack of local police
capacity makes it difficult to meet these expectations;
 Incessant transfers: Difficulties in retaining officers trained in
police stations for a period of time to allow full utilization of skills
and knowledge acquired for implementing community policing
programmes. Officers have been trained to play a role in this
programme only to be transferred to other duties. This is
particularly damaging in a context where human and material
resources are overstretched, and has an adverse effect on the
continuity, effectiveness and sustainability of the programme. It
can moreover undermine trust and confidence, since work put into
building relationships has to start all over again;
 Institutional resistance to change: There is still a widespread
lack of understanding about, and full commitment to, reform by
some police officers. Low wages, poor working conditions and
terms of employment continue to have a negative effect on police
morale;
 Resource limitations and weak structures: Whilst the
expectations of communities are high, community policing has not
been very well funded to allow for quick spread. There are also
lack of operational tools and guidelines for effective service
delivery at divisional levels. Weak divisional structures and lack of
clearly defined roles and responsibilities at divisional levels also
hinder effective implementation;
 Low public trust in the police: Despite moves to introduce and
publicise community policing, a legacy of suspicion and mistrust
between police and communities’ hampers efforts to build
relationships between the police and general public.

Lessons Learnt
The main lessons learnt from this programme are:
i. Partnership development between the police and
communities: The Community Policing programme has
demonstrated the importance of police-community initiatives
especially at local levels. The piloting of Community Safety
Partnership in Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory has

20
 informed the process of developing a national strategy for crime
prevention and community safety, by providing appropriate
methodologies and grass-roots structures drawn from the
communities. The pilot sites have provided a laboratory in which to
test and refine police options.
ii. Building capacity for divisional mangers: A key component in
the training component of community policing has being the
development of leadership and management capacity of divisional
manager. It is particularly important to strengthen capacity to
manage change and institutional reform through, for example,
coaching and training for senior police officers. The outcome has
been leadership and ownership of the reform agenda, which is
helping to make the police services more transparent, adaptable,
participative and consultative.
iii. Capacity development for stakeholders: Series of stakeholder
workshops has proved the importance of problem solving capacity
of stakeholders.
iv. Ownership and participation is crucial: The involvement of
community leaders in the implementation of community policing,
the identification of local problems and joint problem solving has
contributed significantly to local ownership and support. The
establishment of the Department of Community Policing in the
Ministry of Police Affairs has further strengthened government
commitment to the programme. And with the programme being
led by the Inspector General of Police, there has been a sense of
ownership at all levels.
v. Civil society has a broad and vital role in security sector
reform: The role of civil society organizations in the community
policing programme has shown the critical and central role they
can play in security sector reform. Civil society organisations’
contribution is often seen as primarily about raising awareness in
local communities, but the Nigerian experience has shown the
value of a much broader engagement.

Summary and Conclusion

21
The Nigeria Police is on a positive march as it strives to serve democratic
and humanitarian ideals, given the nation’s drive towards an enduring
democratic culture through the adoption and application of Community
Policing.

However, all those involved in Community Policing recognize that it is

part of a major democratization and modernization process for Nigeria,
which will take years to complete. But the indicators abound that
wherever the philosophy, strategy and tenets of Community Policing
have been implemented; the following has occurred:
i. Service delivery improves;
ii. Partnership working increases due to increased trust, confidence
and communication between the community and the police. Police
accountability to the community is improved through mechanisms
for addressing complaints;
iii. Joint problem-solving activities take place as safety and security
issues become everybody’s business and not just the police;
iv. Officers and community members are empowered as it enables
community to have a say in safety and security issues in their
community;
v. Encouraging networking, constructive social relations and greater
cohesion within the community;
vi. Building of safer communities leading to enhanced economic
development;
vii. Reduction in crime and fear of crime;

It is imperative, therefore, that the leadership of the Force and the

Ministry of Police Affairs support this process, not simply through the
provision of activities and resources, but by being Champions of
Community Policing.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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