Policing Informal Economies: Evaluating the Community Vigilante Groupin Fighting Crime in Urban and Peri Urban Nigeria

ABSTRACT:

Informal policing by community vigilante groups has become a serious player in urban and peri urban Nigeria particularly where the formal law enforcement agencies are under-stated or are limited. This paper will analyze the role these groups play in preventing crime, and providing security in the community, determine issues that limit their efficiency, and define their impact to formal policing. By using the mixed methods study involving surveys and in depth interviews in a sample of communities, the study analyzes the effectiveness of the activities of vigilante groups in operating in the informal economies. The evidence shows that these groups drastically decrease the number of petty crimes, burglaries, and insecurity, as they use the knowledge of the local residents, social cohesion, and prompt responsiveness. Nevertheless, they are not effective due to lack of proper training, formal regulation, insufficient resources, and infrequent violation of rights. This paper finds that to ensure sustainable crime control in the informal urban economies, it is important that the vigilante groups be incorporated within a controlled system of community- policing where they are well trained, monitored and coordinated with the formal police units. There are also policy recommendations and areas of further research.

Keywords: Policing, Informal Economies, Community, Vigilante, Crime