PROSPECTS AND POSSIBLE CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY POLICING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The quest for a crime free society has been a major preoccupation of nations as the absence of crime would create a peaceful atmosphere for socio-economic development of the society. Crime prevention has thus become a major concern for both individuals and communities. Nigeria is experiencing security challenges ranging from kidnapping to armed robbery banditry, farmers-herders clashes and other crimes since the Buhari administration. These security challenges have left in their wake hearty causalities and unprecedented destruction of properties. This has raised serious debates among scholars, policymakers and civil society stakeholders on the need to adopt community policing in addressing the security challenges in the polity. It is the direct involvement 
of local population and government in the grassroots for protection. It is a model which is open to public scrutiny in improving the quality of the protection of the people. Even with the best of intentions in fast tracking it’s fully realization, however community policing faces new myriad challenges in the form of manpower, finance, the requisite political will to translate intentions into concrete reality. It remains the duty of government to provide an enabling environment for the populace to fulfill her potentials and the absence of this pose a threat in the polity of the country. Hence the reintroduction of Community policing under the Buhari administration needs to be 
commended. This paper will rely essentially on secondary data involving books, journals articles on the subject matter under review