Crime management strategies on crime incidence In Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

A city whose Law enforcement’s brutality, recently aggravated nationwide protests of global attention, tagged #EndSARS. Not only does security agencies' brutality on host communities signpost the non-existence of a relationship between the citizenry and the Police, but typify the lack of adoption of technology expected in policing a megacity as against an archaic and reactive traditional policing system in crime management. It was against this background that this study employed Routine Activity Theory to analyze crime management strategies on crime incidence in Lagos state, Nigeria. The study engages techno-driven policing strategy and the Police-Community Relationship approach as constructs for crime management strategies in the Megacity of Lagos State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with primary data extracted with the aid of a questionnaire on purposively selected study areas of Lagos State, Nigeria. With an estimated population of 12,568.329, Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) scientific sampling technique determination recommends a sample size of 384 for this study. Ordinary least square regression analysis was employed to analyse the data. The study revealed that techno-driven policing strategy and police-Community relationship approach significantly influenced crime incidence in Lagos State. Based on these findings, the study concludes that neighbourhood reinforced with foot patrol officers is a threat to crime and criminality while a techno-driven approach scales up the art of security way beyond miscreants. The study recommends that Lagos state government should invest more in harnessing public and, private CCTV into a central hub. The study also recommends that Lagos state government should engage more Lagos Neighbourhood Security Officers in street patrol with communities involved in the promotion and rating of officers involved.