Towards a Digital Policing in Developing Nations: The Nigerian Context

Abstract

Technology-assisted living is a growing trend in most developing nations, particularly for young-aged demographic countries, as it presents a platform for personal development and knowledge management. However, this society-scaping trend has also introduced the myriad opportunity for the formation of complex crime, which is often beyond the (immediate) capability of the policing entity in developing nations. To address this lingering and futuristic problem, particularly in Nigeria, this study developed a context-based digital policing framework for the enhancement of the Nigerian Police. This Nigerian-context framework presents the viability and relevance of the digital policing mechanism in addressing challenges ravaging society. Furthermore, it also presents a modality for improving and enhancing the policing apparatus of the Nigerian society, as a model for other developing nations. The knowledge from the Nigerian-context of digital policing has both research and societal implications. In terms of research, it opens the community of security researchers into the contextual characteristics of digital policing as well as the probable research direction required to implement digital policing in developing nations. With respect to society, knowledge provides a substratum for the integration of the community-policing model.