Crime Prevention and Control in Nigeria: a Study of Ogun State Police Command

This study investigated the activities of the police in crime prevention and control with specific focus on the Ogun State Police Command. The objectives of the study include (1) an examination of the factors responsible for the high crime incidence in Nigeria as well as in Ogun state (2) an investigation of the strategies adopted by the police in crime prevention and control (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of such strategies, (4) an identification of the challenges confronting the police in crime prevention and control. A sample of 300 respondents was used for the study. Data were collected through the use of questionnaire, oral interviews, as well as from documents and other miscellaneous sources. Data generated through questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive techniques such as frequency count and percentage while the data obtained through interviews and documentary sources were content analyzed. The findings revealed that factors such as unemployment, poverty, declining income among others as responsible for the high crime incidence in Nigeria as well as in Ogun state. It also shows that the policing Strategies are not highly effective and this was attributed to the myriad of challenges facing the police.