in 2002 has been engaged in what can be described as community policing. The modus operandi of PAC/ATA has always been to mobilize its members who are mostly traders and artisans embedded at the grassroots within the various communities where they operate their trades, for the purpose of gathering information / intelligence which they often transmit to all arms of security agencies, e.g. the Police, SSS, the Military Intelligence, NAFDAC, EFCC, NDLEA, ICPC, CUSTOMS, IMMIGRATION etc to assist the security operations. The PAC/ATA with a membership strength running into millions all over the country are located in every State, Local Governments, villages and hamlets in every nook and crannies all over the country, they are well organized trade associations and professional bodies with the primary task of ensuring that they sniff around for information that bothers on crime committal within their respective environment which they secretly pass on to security agencies at their localities. In fact, if PAC/ATA is financially supported it will solve the problem of advocating of state police which people are agitating for as they know more about people they are living with.

The Merits of Community Policing.

The merits of community policing cannot be over-emphasized, as they are quite enormous. The lapses being witnessed in our national security in the recent times could not have been so devastating if the approach of community policing has been well embraced and made to function effectively in most parts of the trouble spots. Findings had revealed that intelligence failure had mainly been responsible for why our security apparatus, particularly the Police are being overwhelmed in the recent bombardments and insurgencies mainly from the miscreant and other crime perpetrators which is still putting the country’s leadership and security agencies on their toes. Arguably, if community policing has been well embraced and effectively applied the volatile security problems ravaging the states in the Northern part of the country could have been minimized or checkmated adversely.

This is why the ingenuity of the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar in coming up with the idea of community policing in the recent time to address the disturbing and embarrassing security challenges is most welcome, and highly commendable. No doubt, soonest this approach will begin to work magic as the best way to fight crime is by involving the entire people to be keen observers of what goes on around them, and passing quick information to the Police and other security agencies.

This body also commends the efforts of the former National Security Adviser to the President in ensuring that Community Policing spread all over the nation for easy flow of information by giving the PAC support and recognition and also in the area of dissemination of information considered useful to security agencies.

We also appreciate the effort and the dynamism of the present NSA to the President whom God is using mightily through the use of dialogue, community-policing approach towards the insecurity of our nation. We pray that Almighty God will give him divine wisdom and intervention to handle the insecurity situation in the country.

Attitude of Security Agencies for Effectiveness.

Our Security Agencies have a major role to play in ensuring the effectiveness or workability of community policing within our various communities. In this stance, the Police with their closeness to the civilian populace are most involved. The Police-civilian relations has to take a more cordial approach to create more friendliness and engender better trust and confidence between the civilian populace and the police. A situation where the civilian informants with vital information for security agencies are sacred through hostile attitude by few security personnel to them does not augur well for community policing to thrive. There is need therefore for proper re-orientation of our security personnel who are closer to the people on how to build up better confidence with the civilian populace in their dealing with the security agencies. When an informant is scared or cowed down the genuine essence of community policing will be defeated.

Controversy Over State Police.

The Nigerian Governors’ forum (NGF) have been clamoring frantically for State Police as an evidence that the federal police is loosing effectiveness in providing adequate security in the states. The governors are asking the federal Government for a special security intervention fund to enable states contain the myriad of crises confronting them.

While this argument is going on, it is imperative that all major stakeholders in nation security should give the idea of community policing a better attention as an approach that can effectively compliment police in its onerous task of preventing and combating the increasing wave of crimes in the country.

Without mincing words the nation’s security should be made to be the responsibility of all citizens through the workings of community policing, whereby the Police will robustly enjoy the cooperation of everybody in the area of passing useful and genuine information to them and other security agencies in the country to help in detection, preventing and combating heinous crimes in the country. However, the position we are advancing is not in any way supporting the idea of a state police.

It is pertinent to mention here that PAC is a non-political, and non-partisan organization, a position in line with the original purpose and intent of the approving authorities. It is purely endorsed to enhance operations of the security agencies through information dissemination for crime prevention. This is why the PAC has never embarked upon and will never embark on any fund raising or launching to finance its operations, but can only accommodate voluntary assistance because it is purely community policing organization.

The present move to commence another round of our security seminar, which will take place nationwide follows a fresh mandate from the presidency, and the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, that we should intensify efforts on the conduct of the seminar / workshop to contribute out quota towards assisting our security agencies with information dissemination and intelligence gathering to address the escalating security challenges.

As we are all aware the strategic position of our country as the economic hub and commercial center of West Africa makes it imperative that all hands must be on deck to keep ensuring the safety of Nigeria security wise. Our members have been equal to the task as we enjoy good relationship with the Police and other Security agencies in the country.