CRIMINALITY: TACTICS AND PREVENTION (3)

Gbolahan Samuel Moronfolu

What Is an Infraction?

Infractions are crimes for which jail time is not usually a possible sentence. Sometimes known as petty crimes, infractions are often punishable by fines, which can be paid without even going to court. Most infractions are violations of local laws or ordinances passed as deterrence to dangerous or disruptive behavior. Such laws include speed limits in school zones, no parking zones, traffic ordinances, and anti-noise ordinances. Breaking any of these would be considered an infraction. Operating a business without the proper licenses or improperly disposing of trash would also be an infraction. Under some circumstances, an infraction can rise to the level of a more serious crime. Running a stop sign might be a minor infraction, but not stopping for the sign and causing damage or injury is a more serious offense.

Several causes of crime have been identified by scholars and social analysts. Notable among them is, the availability of arms in the hands of illegal users, particularly civilians, motivates criminality in Nigeria. For instance, Hull et al. (2007) argued that the proliferation of arms contributes to conflict in two main ways namely: ‘increasingly lethal firepower is likely to cause higher levels of destruction; and that augmentation of sophisticated weaponry creates a vicious cycle whereby competing militias engage in an arms race to gain dominance in capability. Such competitions often result in violence. No zone in Nigeria is immune to crime. However, the frequency and fatality rate varies. In fact, no matter the functionality of crime in the society, the act of crime is condemnable and unacceptable in a healthy society, no matter the justification criminals may present.

In the 1970s the popular crimes that were prevalent in Nigeria include : armed robbery, stealing, assault, burglary, rape etc; but today terrorism, bomb blasts, kidnapping, drug trafficking, money laundry, child trafficking, assassinations and other criminal activities have become the order of the day. Victoria Ekhomu (2010) noted that “Nigeria was beset with myriad of security challenges such as kidnapping, terrorism, civil disturbance, political violence, fraud, assassination, armed robbery, among others” (cited in Utebor & Ekpimah, 2010:11). In spite of stringent laws and punishments to check these crimes, they have continued to be on the increase, but the Nigeria Police is up to the task in curtailing this societal menace.

Two of the key constitutional duties of the Nigeria Police is the prevention of crime occurrence and the responsibility of internal security by ensuring safety of lives and property. Crime breeds destruction of lives and property as well as terrifying fear of insecurity. Most nations of the globe are, therefore, looking for additional techniques of fighting the soaring wave and growing sophistication of violence. A recent review by the United Nations unveiled that while most countries of the developed economy spend an average between 5 and 6 per cent of their annual budgets on crime prevention, those of the developing economies spend an average between 15 and 23 percent.

The police are very important in the maintenance of law and order in any democratic society. They are the closest law enforcement agents to the public, unlike the military and other paramilitary agencies that concentrate on their specific core jobs/roles in the society, police roles cover every segment of group social interactions in the society (Arisukwu and Okunola, 2013).

The police occupy a vital position in any democratic society and their relationship with the public influences how they are accepted and supported by the public. Policing therefore is everybody’s business as the Police alone cannot effectively solve criminal activities in a society (Remington, 1965), They play many roles from law enforcement, arrest and investigation of suspected criminals to peace building and maintenance of order in a society.

The crime prevention efforts of the police are more in the urban areas than rural areas (Muhammad, 2002). Often times, rural crime pattern and rural policing are different from that of urban centers. Crime rate in the rural areas are assumed to be low mainly due to informal socio-cultural means of social control available in the rural areas. The family and religious values shape the norms and values in a rural community than the urban centers where such values have loose impact on people who live individualistic lives rather than community life styles in rural areas (Etuk, 2008).

Comparing rural to urban crime is like comparing apple to orange because urban population and multi-cultural nature of city lives make life style independent and complicated. On the other hand, rural areas have more quiet and less population of people who are usually related by blood or socially. The common crimes in a rural areas are mainly agriculture related (California Casualty, 2017).

It is sad to note that in the present dispensation, criminality in the country is now more concentrated in the desert, farms, bushes, and the rural areas where banditry take advantages of the less population in such areas to perpetrate more crimes. It is time the country rejig the security architecture to concentrate and upgrade security presence in less populated areas in the rural areas so as to discourage such criminal dastardly acts in such areas.

In another development, Data from International victim survey suggests that crime is higher in developing countries than in developed countries Grote and Neubacher (2016). Rural areas in developing countries are usually characterized by poverty and food insecurity, Grote and Neubacher (2016). The level of poverty is exacerbated by corruption and bad governance. Failure of government to provide adequate security attracts criminals who exploit the poor infrastructure to terrorize innocent rural dwellers.

The neglect inherent in the rural areas has made it a safe haven for all kinds of crime and criminality in developing countries like Nigeria. Crime in rural areas prevents social cohesion and affects sustainable development negatively (Grote and Neubacher, 2016). Hoodlums now use rural areas as their operational base from which they carry out their heinous activities.

Youth unemployment, poverty, hunger, poor health and living conditions and ethno-religious challenges are responsible for violence and disenchantment within the rural areas (Arisukwu, 2017; Arisukwu et al., 2019, 2020; Asaju et al.,2014). According to National Bureau of Statistics, (2017a, b), “the labor statistics report of Nigeria in 4th quarter 2019 has shown that there is 8.9 million Nigerian youths aged 15–34 that are currently unemployed”. These youths are vulnerable and lack the capacity and skills to sustainably engage in or finance any entrepreneurial venture (Asaleye et al., 2018). Also, poverty and lack of education is equally implicated in high rate of unintended pregnancies among teenage girls in rural Nigeria (Arisukwu et al., 2019). This unplanned population in the hands of families that cannot provide their basic needs will exacerbate the crime situation in the community.

*Moronfolu is a seasoned security consultant with many years of security and policing experience. FELLOW, Fourth Estate Professional Society (FFPS), he has also partaken in peace keeping operations within and outside the country and has flair for general security education.