ACCESS, SHARING, PRESERVATION, AND USE OF CRIME INFORMATION BY STAKEHOLDERS IN SABON TASHA, KADUNA-NIGERIA

Abstract

When measures for crime management seem inefficient, it suggests something is wrong with the performance of the security stakeholders. The current study used a rational choice model to examine how the various security agencies and stakeholders access crime information and whether or not such information is shared between and among the various stakeholders, and how the same is preserved and used in managing crime in Sabon Tasha. The aim is to explain the seeming ineffectiveness of crime management in Sabon Tasha. The study utilized an in-depth interview supplemented with a research questionnaire to obtain data from the respondents. The study findings indicate that security stakeholders in Sabon Tasha access crime information primarily through reports and non-forensic investigations and that a tradition of information sharing exists amongst stakeholders. Still, crime information in Sabon Tasha is poorly preserved. The study also reveals that stakeholders are using crime information inefficiently as the area's crime rate increases. It is the position of this study that information is vital in any attempt at managing crime. However, it brings attention to the more critical issue of the sophistication and reliability of the source(s) of crime information and how it is shared, processed, preserved, and utilized. The competency of security stakeholders is central here as this determines their ability to source reliable information, adequately share, preserve, analyze, and use the same against criminals. Considering the primacy of security in the wellbeing of every community, this study recommends the sincere tackling of the obstacles against the proper access, preservation, and the effective use of crime information in Sabon Tasha, as revealed by the study.