PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF POLICE BRUTALITY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

ABSTRACT

Police is one of the biggest, most visible and important components of the Criminal Justice System. The Nigeria police has been under critical attack on issues of brutality on members of the public and detainees, which has led to the erosion of public confidence in the force and poor perception by the public. The study seeks to provide empirical evidence by investigating the prevalence of police brutality in enforcement of law in Benin City, Edo State. Five research questions and three hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. Four theories were reviewed and the Social Disorganization Theory was adopted as the theoretical guide to the study. The study follows a survey research design with the use of both primary and secondary methods of data collection, while the sampling techniques adopted by the researcher were the purposive, quota, and simple random sampling methods. The population from which the sample is selected comprises residents, detainees and police officers who live in Benin City, the capital of Edo State. Data for the study was obtained from four hundred and ninety (490) members of the public and police detainees, and twenty (20) police officers altogether using the questionnaire schedule. The research instrument was ‘‘Questionnaire on Police Brutality on the Public’’. The instrument was pilot tested to ensure its validity and reliability. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as simple frequencies and percentages while the Chi-square () statistics was used to test the hypotheses with the probability value () of 0.000001 at 5 percent level of significance with the aid of SPSS version 22.0. The study finds out that some forms of police brutality existed in the study area; most prevalent during arrests, detention and interrogation. Most detainees and members of the public affirmed that they encountered harsh treatment from the police. The study therefore concludes that members of the Nigeria Police should imbibe the democratic culture which is in line with international policing standards and ethics devoid of brutality. It is therefore recommended that perhaps as a way of enhancing humane policing strategies, the officers of the Nigeria Police should undergo proper training and re-training especially in area of professionalism and public relations. Also, relevant sections of the Police Act should be reviewed to reduce the trend of police brutality on the public and detainees as well as poor image perception of police organization by the citizens.

Keywords: Policing, Police Brutality; Excessive Use of Force; Public Perception.