Computerized Crime Tracking Information System; Case Study of Nigerian Police
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this project is to design and implement a database for storing crime records. This will aid the police in crime tracking and control.
The main objective of the project was to Speed up criminal trials and reduce the length of time Awaiting Trial Prisoners (ATPs) stay in prison by setting up a criminal case tracking system that improves coordination between justice institutions. The system would ensure a better case flow and efficient data management that would inform better management decisions.
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
NIGERIA POLICE FORCE
The Nigeria Police Force is designated by Section 194 of the 1979 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country. Constitutional provision also exists, however, for the establishment of separate Nigeria Police Force (NPF) branches “forming part of the armed forces of the Federation or for their protection of harbours, waterways, railways and airfields.” One such branch, the Port Security Police, was reported by different sources to have a strength in 1990 of between 1,500 and 12,000.
Nigeria’s police began with a thirty-member consular guard formed in Lagos Colony in 1861. In 1879 a 1,200-member armed paramilitary Hausa Constabulary was formed. In 1896 the Lagos Police was established. A similar force, the Niger Coast Constabulary, was formed in Calabar in 1894 under the newly proclaimed Niger Coast Protectorate. In the north, the Royal Niger Company set up the Royal Niger Company Constabulary in 1888 with headquarters at Lokoja. When the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were proclaimed in the early 1900s, part of the Royal Niger Company Constabulary became the Northern Nigeria Police, and part of the Niger Coast Constabulary became the Southern Nigeria Police. Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914, but their police forces were not merged until 1930, forming the Nigeria police Force (NPF), headquartered in Lagos. During the colonial period, most police were associated with local governments (native authorities). In the 1960s, under the First Republic, these forces were first regionalised and then nationalised. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) performed conventional police functions and was responsible for internal security generally; for supporting the prison, immigration, and customs services; and for performing military duties within or outside Nigeria as directed. Plans were announced in mid- 1980 to expand the force to 200,000. By 1983, according to the federal budget, the strength of the NPF was almost 152,000, but other sources estimated it to be between 20,000 and 80,000. Reportedly, there were more than 1,300 police stations nationwide. Police officers were not usually armed but were issued weapons when required for specific missions or circumstances. They were often deployed throughout the country, but in 1989 Babangida announced that a larger number of officers would be posted to their native areas to facilitate police- community relations.
The NPF was under the general operational and administrative control of an Inspector General (IGP) appointed by the president and responsible for the maintenance of law and order. He was supported at headquarters in Lagos by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and in each state by police commissioners. The 1979 constitution provided for a Police Service Commission that was responsible for Nigeria Police Force policy, organization, administration, and finance (except for pensions), In February 1989, Babangida abolished the Police Service Commission and established the Nigeria Police Council in its stead, under direct presidential control. The new council was chaired by the president; the chief of General Staff, the minister of internal affairs, and the police inspector general were members. As part of the government reorganization in September 1990, Alhajji Sumaila Gwarzo, formerly SSS director, was named to the new post of minister of state, police affairs.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND SYSTEM ANALYSIS
METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the underlying principles and rules that govern a system method; on the other hand it is a systematic procedure for a set of activities. Thus, from these definitions a methodology encompasses the methods used within a study.
Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. Structured System Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) is a waterfall method by which an Information System design can be arrived at. Structured System Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) can be thought to represent a pinnacle of the rigorous document-led approach to system design, and contrasts with more contemporary Rapid Application Development methods such as DSDM.
System design methods are a discipline within the software development industry which seek to provide a framework for activity and the capture, storage, transformation and dissemination of information so as to enable the economic development of computer systems that are fit for purpose.
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING
OUTPUT SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN
The output form is designed to generate printable reports from the database. The output is placed on a database grid and contains crime information. The output produced can be printed on a hard copy or viewed on the screen. The output generated includes:
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
While police organizations have existed as long as government itself, the idea of a computerised crime tracking system by police force is relatively modern concept. Max Weber famously argued that the state is that which controls the legitimate monopoly of the means of violence. The military and police carry out enforcement at the request of the government or the courts. The term failed state refers to states that cannot implement or enforce policies; their police and military no longer control security and order and society moves into anarchy, the absence of government. But with the implementation of the crime tracking system designed I this project, it will be much easier for police to keep track of crime information in other to have control over the state..
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the nigerian police be adquetly trained on the use of Information Technology in crime tracking. Computer litracy program should be organized for the nigerian police. This can be carried out set by set. At the end of the training, it is recommended that the crime tracking system be deployed to every police station for recording crime information.
CONCLUSION
The complexity and anonymity of computer systems may help criminal camouflage their operations. The victims of the most costly scams include banks, brokerage houses, insurance companies, and other large financial institutions.
Most people guilty of embezzlement do not have criminal histories. Embezzlers tend to have a gripe against their employer, have financial problems, or simply an inability to resist the temptation of a loophole they have found. Screening and background checks on perspective employees can help in prevention; however, many laws make some types of screening difficult or even illegal. Fired or disgruntled employees sometimes sabotage their company’s computer system as a form of “pay back”. This sabotage may take the form of a logic bomb, a computer virus, or creating general havoc.
Some police stations have developed measures in an attempt to combat and prevent crime. Police sometimes implement security measures such as cameras, fingerprint records of crimes, and background checks. Not only do these methods help prevent crime, but they help police to keep track of crimes and maintain a database of criminal records.
REFERENCE
- Aquinas, T. (2002). On Law, Morality and Politics. 2nd edition. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co.
- Attenborough, F. L. (1999). The Laws of the Earliest English Kings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprint March 2006. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
- Blythe, James M. (2006). Ideal Government and the Mixed Constitution in the Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Cohen, S. (2009). Visions of Social Control: Crime, Punishment, and Classification. Polity Press.
- Daube, D. (2005). Roman Law: Linguistic, Social and Philosophical Aspects. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Driver, G. R. & Mills, J.C. (1955). The Babylonian Laws. 2 Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press.