ABSTRACT
Security is the most fundamental need of human beings. There are several interrelated domains of security – physical, emotional, social, economic and political. Urban security issues cover areas of security of lives and properties, healthy security, food security, economic security, protection from natural and man-made hazards among others. This study examined the level of people‘s consciousness of their security, safety and coping strategies against crime in Suleja, examine the incidences of crime in the study area, examine the level of safety consciousness of the people in the study area and evaluate the coping capacity of the people and the strategies for crime prevention in the area and also map out crime hotspot areas in the area. Quantitative techniques which involve the use of both primary and secondary data. Questionnaire were administered and response were subjected to descriptive statistics analysis, Geospatial techniques was also used to mapout crime hotspot areas. The study revealed that 46.9% of the residents in the study area have experienced one form of crime or the other in the last one year. Armed robbery accounts for 28.8% of crime followed by burglary (49.4%), Snatching of cars accounts for 0.8% and others 21.0%. The study also revealed that 35% of crimes in the area were caused by drug abuse, unemployment (39.2%), poverty (23.5%) and others accounts for 2.3%. The effects of the crime according to the findings were loss of valuables 57.7%, injury and death (10.8%), economic loss (14.0%), fear (17.3%) and others (0.2%). the study thereby recommended that employment opportunity should be created, since unemployment recorded the highest of the causes of crime in the area. Provision should be made for skills acquisition where people will be trained to become self-reliant and job creators rather than job seekers.
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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Criminal activity continues to be a major concern in contemporary society. Most nations are faced with unacceptable levels of delinquency and crime. In many of the world‘s industrialized countries crime rates recorded by the police are many times those recorded 30 years ago. The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) has collected data on 55 countries, spread over six major world regions including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Western Europe. Findings showed that for the 1989–1996 period, more than half of the urban respondents reported being victimized at least once regardless of what part of the world they inhabit (Ackerman & Murray 2004). Also, it was stated that high crime rates are not unique features of a few nations, but a statistically normal feature of life all over the world. Research efforts seeking to explain the geographic variation in the rate of crime has been ongoing for more than 150 years (Eck and Weisburd, 1995). Quite a lot of researches have been carried out on integrating GIS application to crime.
The existence of crime is as old as the creation of man itself and man has always looked for ways to combat it and reduce it as much as possible. The occurrence of criminal activity in the form of thefts, assaults, homicide, etc is something that takes place every day in almost all reaches of our world. There is a great deal of debate on the causes of crime. In the 1980s, the rate of crime occurrence grew sharply to nearly epidemic proportions, particularly in Lagos and other urbanized areas due to population explosion by stark economic inequality and deprivation, social disorganization, inadequate government service and law enforcement incapability, unemployment, socio-political conditions etc. (Murray and Brit. J. Criminol 2001). A community with a high rate of criminal activities is unattractive or less attractive to both local and foreign investment and this is the present situation that prevails in parts of Nigeria. The Nigerian security agents, especially Nigerian Policemen, are not particularly effective in foreseeing where and when specific future crimes will take place.
The distribution of crime across the landscape is geographically random since crimes are human phenomena. For crimes to occur, offenders and their targets – the victims and/or property – must exist at the same location for a period of time. Several factors, including the lure of potential targets and simple geographic convenience for an offender, influence where people choose to break the law. Therefore, geography plays an important role in law enforcement and criminal justice. A popular slogan says criminals are not spirits. They move from one place to the other, and live in the society just like every one of us (GIS team, 2005).
GIS helps crime officers determine potential crime sites by examining complex seemingly unrelated criteria and displaying them all in a graphical, layered, spatial interface or map. It also helps them map inmate populations, fixtures, and equipment to provide for the safety of inmates by separating gang members, identifying high-risk or potentially violent inmates, and identifying hazardous locations in an area. It reduces the potential for internal violence by providing better command and control (Johnson, 2000).
Computerized crime maps have recently begun to emerge as a significant tool only in crime and justice that assists police departments in strategic planning, operations and crime analysis. They may display information about the relationships between geographic areas, crime and a number of risk factors. As crime and delinquency are known to be localized processes, criminological maps have proved useful in assisting police operations and in supporting crime prevention initiatives (Weisburd David, Wim Bernasco, Gerben Bruinsma 1997). Maps also assist in the assessment of the regional distribution of crime. Computerized crime mapping is rapidly a developing technology that assists police departments in strategic planning. The method of investigation is to quickly view and compare patterns of the crime events. Crime has abundant references relating crime patterns to specific geographic features for example, some crimes such as robbery, snatching and pocket picking, may be particularly enhanced by the existence of commercial areas, parking places and industrial complexes (Coffey, Canterand and Alison 2000).
Criminal activity is costly to both individuals and society. In the United States, crime resulted in a total loss to victims of almost $16 billion in 2004, and expenditures for police, the criminal judicial system, and corrections exceeded $185 billion in 2003 (Sedgwick 2006). The indirect costs of crime are also substantial. For example, children with imprisoned fathers have high rates of poverty, are more likely to grow up without a father, and are often stigmatized, all of which can limit their future labor market opportunities in the legal sector and increase the likelihood that they, like their fathers before them, will engage in criminal activity (Wildeman, 2009)
According to Freeman (1996), crime is an activity of individuals with low legitimate earnings prospects, and involvement with the criminal justice system has become part of normal economic life for many young men.‖ For example, over half of 25- to 34-year old black men who are high school dropouts are either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole (Freeman 1996). Yet, many disadvantaged men do not commit crimes, and between the ages of 25 and 35 many offenders either decrease their level of criminal activity or desist altogether (Kerner 2005).
Applications of GIS to crime mapping and management have been successful in many developed countries. Information associated with crime in Lima and Columbus (Ohio) was acquired and integrated in a GIS environment (Murray et al, 2005). Analysis in Lima has spanned crime from 1999 to the present. As a result, the work informed policy and decision making in Lima Police Department activities, particularly with respect to community policing (Murray et al, 2005).
GIS can be used as an investigative methodology that uses the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area of the residence of the offender. It can serve as the building block for several investigative strategies, including suspect and tip prioritization, address-based searches of police record systems, patrol saturation and surveillance, neighbourhood canvasses and searches, and DNA screening prioritization. GIS technology, by high-end spatial analysis and querying, highlights the crime location, any physical boundaries that were present (that might not otherwise be noticed), and the types of roads and highways that come into both the abduction and body dump sites (Karthik, 2004).
For more than one year in Kaduna State, armed robbers and car snatchers enjoyed a field day terrorising people, operating both day and night unhindered It is acknowledged that concerns about personal safety are obstacles to regular participation in physical activity and local walking (Duncan and Mummery 2005; Van Cauwenberg et al. 2011).
1.2 Statement of Research Problem
As people continue to migrate from rural to urban centers in search for food, shelter and income which lead to urbanization. Large population concentration in an area often lead to crime. Some criminologists assert that certain offenders are born into environments (such as extreme poverty or discriminated-against minority groups) that tend to generate criminal behavior. Others argue that since only some persons succumb to these influences, additional stimuli must be at work. One widely accepted theory is Edwin Sutherland’s concept of differential association, which argues that criminal behavior is learned in small groups. Psychiatry generally considers crime to result from emotional disorders, often stemming from childhood experience. The criminal symbolically enacts a repressed wish, or desire, and crimes such as arson or theft that result from pyromania or kleptomania are specific expressions of personality disorders; therefore, crime prevention and the cure of offenders are security situation in Suleja appears to be getting worse. The rich and ordinary man express feelings of insecurity. As a matter of fact, there are frequent cases of attacks by hoodlums in Chaza area, Anguwan Sarki, and Kwamba among others. This trend, if not checked is capable of not only derailing the entire Suleja, but also the corporate existence of the State.
1.3 Aim and Objectives
This research is to examine crime incidence and prevention strategies in Suleja town with view to identifying crime hotspot and make appropriate recommendation. The following objectives will be achieved
i. Examine the incidences of crime in the study area.
ii. To examine the level of safety consciousness of the people in the study area.
iii. To evaluate the coping capacity of the people and the strategies for crime prevention in the area.
iv. Create crime hot and cold spots map of the study area
v. Assess the relationship between the police divisional stations and the crime hotspots areas
1.4 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on insecurity in Suleja and is limited to crime which is fundamental threats to human security and safety. Thus, the study examine the level of safety consciousness of residents with regards to crime in some selected neighborhoods in Suleja town.
1.5 Justification
Urbanization as brought about an increase in crime and violence resulting to serious problems in the study area, because it threatens the quality of life, economic stability and hinders sustainable development. Effort is needed to address this situation in the study area. The prospects of future development and of poverty reduction are limited, since poverty, violence and insecurity is hostile to investment and sustainable development. Increase in crime and civil unrest if left unchecked could result into abysmal situation. As result to these reasons, the study is important since it intends to identify crime and violence prevalent with regards to the safety consciousness imbibed by the residents in the study area with a view of coming up with remedial measures toward enhancing security and safety in the area.
Various studies has being carried out such as, Steffensmeier and Harere, (1999), the study explaining variation in urban crime, another study was conducted by Sanidada-Leones, (2006) on crime and insecurity, another studies was carried out by Agbola (1997) on the strength of Nigeria Police and population growth, but no specific studies that was carried out on crime and prevention strategies particularly to Suleja, Niger State. The study will have an operational role, assisting law enforcement agencies with allocation of resources and planning crime-reduction activities. The operational role guides leaders in setting near-term policing priorities. Identifying hot spots‖ of criminal activity to guide officer deployments is a prime example of operational analysis. It will also play a strategic role, providing analysis geared toward long-term planning and problem solving. Strategic analysis usually informs command staff decisions and requires more-advanced analytical skills and tools. An analyst working in a strategic capacity might examine trends in critical incident response time to help decision makers determine whether the department needs an additional station.
The results of the research will provide useful information for assisting in the design of crime prevention programmes. Thus, the research output will go a long way in promoting the e- policing programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
1.6 The Study Area
Suleja is a city in Niger State of Nigeria just north of Abuja, capital of Suleja emirate, it lies between latitude 9 º6 ‘13.8 ‘‘ and 9 º17 ‘49.35 ‘‘ north of the equator and longitude 7 º6 ‘58.6 and 7 º12 ‘18.41 ‘ east of Greenwich Meridians (See figure 1.1). It has an area of 136.33 sq k .with the total population of approximately ( 635,314 people) as at 2012. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of Abuja. Due to its proximity, and the fact that it was originally called Abuja before the Nigerian government adopted the name from the then Emir Sulayman Barau for its new federal capital in 1976.Suleja Emirate is made up of three Local Governments, namely Suleja, Tafa and Gurara. However, the social and economic influence of Suleja city covers the two other local governments.
1.7.2 History of Suleja
The emirate’s wooded savanna area of about 1,150 square miles (2,980 square km) originally included four small koro chiefdoms that paid tribute to the Hausa kingdom of Zauzau. After warriors of the Fulani jihad (holy war) captured Zaria (Zauzau’s capital, 220km north- northeast) about 1802, MuhammedMakau, sarkin (king) Zauzau, led many of the Hausa nobility to the Koro town of Zuba (10km) south of Abuja, Jatau his brother and successor or sarkinZauzau, founded Abuja town in 1828, began construction of its wall later, and proclaimed himself the first emir of Abuja.
Withstanding Zaria attacks, the Abuja emirate remained and independent Hausa refuge. Trade with Fulani emirate of Bida (to the west) and Zaria began in Emir Abu Kwaka’s reign (1851- 1877), but, when Abuja’s leaders disrupted the trade route between Lokoja (160km) south- southeast and Zaria in 1902, the British occupied the town. Alluvial tin mining began in Emir Musa Angulu’s reign (1917-1944).
Suleja was established in the early 19th century by Mohamed Makau, the last Hausa emir of Zaria and his followers who were fleeing the Fulani jihadist engaged in the conquest of the northern Nigeria. Zaria was one of the hausa city of the northern Nigeria which were being conquered by the Fulani jihadist under the charismatic sheik, Usman bin Fodio.
Apart from its closeness to the federal capital, it is also recognized as a centre of excellence for traditional West African pottery, namely the world famous Ladikwali pottery centre, established by Michael Cardew in 1950. The leading exponent of this school of pottery was DrLadiKwali, who received worldwide acclaim for her work, the originals of which are on display worldwide.
1.7.3 Climate
Suleja is within the tropical continent zone with average annual rainfall of 1600mm and a raining season of over 7 months in the year. There is a single maximum in the rainfall of August. Temperatures are generally high in the summer month, which last from November to March.This includes a warm humid rainy season and a blistering dry season. In between the two, there is a brief interlude of harmattan occasioned by the northeast trade wind, with the main feature of dust haze, intensified coldness and dryness.
The rainy season begins from April and ends in October, when daytime temperatures reach 28°C (82.4°F) to 30°C (86.0°F) and nighttime lows hover around 22°C (71.6°F) to 23°C (73.4°F). In the dry season, daytime temperatures can soar as high as 40°C (104.0°F) and nighttime temperatures can dip to 12°C (53.6°F). Even the chilliest nights can be followed by daytime temperatures well above 30°C (86.0°F). The high altitudes and undulating terrain of Suleja act as a moderating influence on the weather of the territory.Rainfall in the Suleja reflects the territory’s location on the windward side of the Jos Plateau and the zone of rising air masses with the city receiving frequent rainfall during the rainy season from March to November every year.
1.7.4 Vegetation
Suleja falls within the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic zone of the West African sub-region. Patches of rain forest, especially in the rugged terrain to the south southeastern parts of the territory, where a landscape of gullies and rough terrain is found. These areas of Niger state form one of the few surviving occurrences of the mature forest vegetation.
1.7.5 Relief
The study area has a long range of hills and ridges on the western side of the town, which has restriction in that direction slope in certain area of the developed town are up to 30% and that is responsible for the rapid erosion and gully formation which are common in the area.
1.7.6 Drainage System
The town is well drained in to a system of streams and as a result of the steep slopes there is incidence of flash flood in certain part of the town particularly in areas with high development density.
1.7.7 Soil
Like most alluvial soils, the soil in Suleja is the flood plain type and is characterized by considerable variations. The soil is of two main types which could be used for agriculture and are rich in minerals for the manufacture of various products. The two types of soil are: the Ku-soil which has little hazards and the Ya-soil which has a better water holding capacity.
1.7.8 Economy
Today Suleja is well known as an exporter of Gbagi pottery. Cotton weaving and dyeing, with locally grown indigo, and mat making are traditional activities, but farming remains the chief occupation. Local trade is primarily in agriculture products.
1.7.9 Genesis ofthe Development Challenges of Suleja
Nowhere has the truism ―he who fail to plan, has Plan to fail‖ become glaringly evident as the sorrowful state of the good people of Suleja town (formerly Abuja town). Up to 1976 when the then Federal Military Government decided to move the nation‘s capital from Lagos to Abuja, Suleja was, substantially, a traditional Hausa settlement with the typical Hausa-Fulani traditional setup.
The Federal Military Government decided not to include Suleja in the Federal Capital Territory, for a variety of reasons including its predominant ethnic composition. Despite their exclusion, the good people of Suleja, former Abuja Local Government, contributed about 80% (6,400 km2) of the total area of FCT, (albeit on the instruction of the Military Government). The remaining 20% was contributed by the former Keffi and KotonKarfe Local Governments of former Plateau and Kwara States respectively. Another piece of land within Suleja was contributed for constructing a newly established Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) Field Base. This remained in Suleja for about five years during the planning stages of Abuja‘s development before the physical construction activities could take-off in 1982 (Shuaibu, 2006).
The genesis of the seeming intractable development challenges of Suleja have to do with the decision not to locate Suleja within the boundaries of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); not to designate it as one of its Satellite Towns (or declare it a Special Development Area), as was done to Gwagwalada, Bwari and Kuje; failings on the part of both Federal and Niger State Governments to develop and implement measures to protect Suleja from the, inevitable, influx of workers and businesses that were to participate in the construction of Abuja; and the seeming extraordinarily high and evidently unsustainable standard set for construction of the FCT that priced most workers out of its property market, among others.
However, within a space of about thirty years when the construction of FCT started, Suleja town had lost virtually all its developable land; a large percentage of its indigenous population, who could not resist the temptation of money, sold their houses and plots of land to the business men and women, from other parts of the country, who moved to the town due to its proximity to Abuja or as a base to transact business with FCT. From all indications the new owners of the town do not appear to have any more allegiance to it beyond the convenience it offers them and the potential for making a huge profit. They all have states, towns and villages to go back to, while the real Suleja indigenes appear to be stuck in the ever shrinking corners of the town, their rapidly increasing population notwithstanding.
However, it must be acknowledged that these people are known for their high level of self- reliance driven by a well-established tradition of entrepreneurship; and a very effective clan- based ―Safety Net‖ they provide to their members and relations. In Planning terms, Suleja appears to be a town choking itself to death-with a huge and rapidly growing population- unemployed, informal sector operators, small and medium sized business operators- looking up to Abuja for the greener pasture and business and investing virtually nothing in Suleja. The entire town has become one giant slum, growing in size and density in the most unplanned and uncontrolled manner imaginable; virtually all its streets are littered with signboards, in a ―riot‖ of forms, shapes and colours, of mostly informal sector operators; provision of urban basic services, especially water and sanitation has virtually collapsed; with a cacophony of noise coming out of electric generators that have become the main stay of power supply in the town, with huge implication on the health of the residents; unplanned peri-urban expansion; high levels of vulnerability to natural disasters; poor mobility systems; environmental degradation; and sight and sound of social conflict over land resources.
Experience has shown that were the FCT to have been moved to any other part of Nigeria, the same fate would have awaited the indigenous population without requisite safeguards and deliberate effort to protect their interest. It is inevitable that the construction of such an ambitious project (FCT) will attract large number of people-business men and women; unemployed; skilled and unskilled workers; honest and dishonest people etc.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
ASSESSMENT OF CRIME PROLIFERATION AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SULEJA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA
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