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THE POLICE AND USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technologies are increasingly becoming a point of interaction between governments, public agencies and citizens. ICT is used as a tool in increasing efficiency in crime fighting strategies by police and other law enforcement agencies. In Nigeria, ICT has made it possible for police officers to efficiently communicate and effectively exchange information. This results in successful police operations thus reducing the rate of insecurity in the country. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of communication technologies on police officers‟ performance, to establish the influence of record keeping technologies on police officers‟ performance, to investigate the influence of problem-solving technologies on police officers‟ performance. It also sought to evaluate how knowledge empowerment through technology influence police officers‟ performance. The study will help the Nigerian government in development and implementation of ICT policies. The study was focused on police officers working in Abuja Municipal Area Council only. The study assumed that the respondents would provide genuine and true information and that questionnaires would be returned on time. The study was based on unified theory of acceptance and technological use as emphasized by Venkatesh (2003). This study adopted a descriptive survey design which was used to obtain information through describing the existing phenomenon. The target population was 817 police officers serving in Abuja Municipal Area Council. The sample size was obtained through multistage approach and simple random sampling. The sample of the study comprised of 245 police officers. A test-re-test technique was used to test reliability of the data collection instruments. An introductory letter was obtained from the University of Nairobi before commencement of data collection. The data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package of Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics was computed and data presented in frequency tables. Pearson moment correlation coefficient(r) was computed to show the association between the independent variable and the dependent variable. Regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which an independent variable influenced the dependent variable. In the first objective there was strong positive association between communication technologies and police officers‟ performance with r= 0.975. R2 of 0.951 showed 95.1% variation of officers‟ performance as a result of using communication technology. In the second objective, there was a high positive association between record keeping technology and performance of police officers with r= 0.969. In the third objective, there was a strong positive association between problem solving technologies and performance of police officers with r=0.965. In the fourth objective, there was a strong positive association between knowledge empowerment technologies and police officers‟ performance. The study concludes that to a large extent, ICT positively influences the performance of police officers in Abuja Municipal Area Council. Provision of necessary equipment and training should be enhanced. The government should enact laws that facilitate the application of ICT in various police activities.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Information and communication technologies are increasingly becoming the point of interaction between government, public agencies and people (Bruce &Tait ,2015). ICT usage by the public sector has been recognized as a key parameter of efficiency in delivering government services to the citizenry. Latin America is experiencing a digital revolution with most of its citizenry being online. There is also a witnessed high rate of organized and interpersonal violence. Due to this, governments such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have adopted ICT as a means of reducing the increasing rate of insecurity. This is a tool that is used to add efficiency on the conventional crime fighting strategies applied by police and other law enforcement agencies. The police in these countries have adopted use of security cameras, increased the mobile communication system, installation of GPS and tablets in police vehicles. Police agencies also analyze large volumes of raw data which is e-sourced to gain a deeper understanding of security issues in their respective countries (Muggah & Diniz, 2013). Heads of most police agencies in USA are finding it challenging to develop an optimum mix of technologies given the nature and trend of crime in their respective jurisdiction. Advanced technologies are available to police agencies such as gunshot detection system, body camera technology, predictive analysis systems, GPS technology, facial recognition system among others(Miller, Lindsay, Jessica T., & Police Executive Research Forum, 2014).USA  police agencies have been applying ICT to reduce public complaints against police work and to increase public trust. More than a third of police agencies have adopted the use of body cameras to improve accountability of police officers. Body cameras also act as deterrence to police officers from engaging in undesirable behaviors such as use of excessive force. It encourages treatment of members of the public in a just manner (Braga A., Coldren J., Sausa W., Rodriguez D., Alper O., 2017).

Technological advancements are greatly changing the form and content of policing especially with new forms of communication and information exchange in South Africa. The concept of smart policing have been initiated in the country(South Africa) with the ultimate goal of applying ICT to improve police oversight and accountability(Bruce &Tait, 2015).South African police has an official police website that enhance coordination and cooperation between the department and the community in fighting crime. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Whatsup among others has also assisted South African police in rendering efficient and effective service. The department utilizes social media in criminal investigations, finding suspects and finding missing persons (Turck,L.,2016).According to Turck(2016), there are different types of software used by the South African police in fight against crime. The department also greatly applies technologies such as GPS tracking, CCTV, and cell phones when carrying out their mandate.

Through the Smart Rwanda Master plan 2015, the Rwandan government has undertaken to implement information and communication systems and services for government ministries, department and agencies. Rwandan government has embarked on ICT implementation in police department to improve security services. According to Twizere (2013), Rwandan National police uses a radar gun system to detect the speed of motor vehicles on Rwandan roads and thereafter arresting the speeding drivers. This is aimed at reducing the amount of road accidents. The number of accidents and associated human suffering reduced significantly after introduction of car radar gun in Rwanda.