DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SECURITY INFORMATION SYSTEM (A CASE STUDY OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE)

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1        Background Of The Study
Information security, sometimes shortened to infosec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or at least reducing the probability of unauthorized/inappropriate access, use, disclosure, disruption, deletion/destruction, corruption, modification, inspection, recording or devaluation, although it may also involve reducing the adverse impacts of incidents. Information may take any form, e.g. electronic or physical tangible (e.g. paperwork) or intangible (e.g. knowledge). Information security’s primary focus is the balanced protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data (also known as the CIA triad) while maintaining a focus on efficient policy implementation, all without hampering organization productivity. This is largely achieved through a structured risk management process that involves: Information systems security does not just deal with computer information, but also protecting data and information in all of its forms, such as telephone conversations. Risk assessments must be performed to determine what information poses the biggest risk. For example, one system may have the most important information on it and therefore will need more security measures to maintain security.

In some countries, security police are those persons employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations with large campuses who provide police and security services to those agencies’ properties.  Security police protect their agency’s facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations. Most security police have at least some arrest authority. The law enforcement powers of security police vary widely: in some cases limited to those of private persons yet in others amounting to full police powers equivalent to state/provincial, or local law enforcement. As distinct from general law enforcement, the primary focus of security police is on the protection of specific properties and persons. This causes some overlap with functions normally performed by security guards. However, security police are distinguished from guards by greater authority: often higher levels of training, and correspondingly higher expectations of performance in the protection of life and property. In other countries, ‘security police’ is the name given to the secret security and intelligence services charged with protecting the state at the highest level, including responsibilities such as personal protection of the head of state, counter-espionage, and anti-terrorism.

Furthermore, the phenomenon, “crime” has been a major subject of private and public concern throughout human history. No society is free of crime. However, the question often asked is that even if crime is part of inevitable human behaviour, how much of it can a society tolerate? This question is linked to man’s natural instinct for survival, the ability to respond to any threat to his life and property. Crime poses such a threat, particularly in its violent form. The recent upsurge in violent crimes in Nigeria has created enormous uncertainty in the security of lives and property of individuals and of social stability in general. The incidents of traditional crimes such as armed robbery, arson, drug trafficking and abuse, murder, kidnapping, rape, hired assassinations and ritual killings are examples of the most serious and violent crimes which have been on the increase in the recent past. Correspondingly, White Collar Crimes in the form of Advance Fee Fraud (popularly, known as 419), contract deals, embezzlement and mismanagement in both the public and private sectors are also on the increase. The aggregate of  the traditional crimes mostly committed by the less privileged and white collar crimes mostly committed by the highly placed call for a change in the strategies for the prevention and control of crime in Nigeria, The existing patterns in criminal activities show that criminals are getting more organized, sophisticated and brutal in the manner they carry out their dastardly acts, either in the way they physically attack individuals with dangerous weapons or the method they use in taking advantage of their official positions to steal and stash away millions of public funds in foreign and domestic accounts. Equally worrisome is the new dimension in organized criminal behaviour in Nigeria involving acts of terrorism and sabotage against individuals and public places. Recent incidents, in which some individual were stalked and eventually trapped in the volley of bullets from assault weapons, depict the viciousness of violent criminals. These acts are usually well-planned, orchestrated, syndicated and organized in the mafia-type fashion. Police organizations collect and store a vast amount of information. Traditionally, this information resided on sheets of paper stored in file cabinets. Today, police organizations are being transformed by the information age. Most have implemented management information systems (MIS) to record, store, access, and analyze data on calls-for-service from citizens, the nature of the police response to these calls, reported crimes, arrests, gun permits, motor vehicle stops, and many other types of data. Some agencies maintain centralized control over access to information, while others have adopted integrated management systems that can be accessed by law enforcement officials at any level (from patrol officer to chief). This “all access” approach allows employees with different needs to access the data without having to wait or file a formal request. Some agencies store and access data electronically, but do not use it as a means for improving the organization. Others use data as a tool to improve management and operations. While most large police agencies today have made enormous improvements in their capacity to collect and store large amounts of data, many have made little progress in using the data they collect. Developing the ability to use data for improving operations and management represents an important challenge for police organizations today. This section introduces some of the information technologies used by police and discusses their potential for improving police management.

 1.2      Statement Of Problem

Security information system has always played a vital role in the stability of a nation. Keeping security information manually can hinder some process and delay passage of security information to the appropriate body. Manual documentation of security information can lead to exposure of the information thereby creating threat to the nation at large. Hence, there is need for an automated security information system to guaranty safety of information. Also The Nigeria Police is saddled with the responsibility of maintenance of law and order. It also protects, prevents and investigates criminal activities. In the discharge of these duties, the force has over the years failed. This is by virtue of certain inherent problems and challenges that has militated against the force in its application of its powers as have been statutorily provided. Some of these problems are: a. The abuse of human rights, collection of bribes, corruption in the force, flagrant shooting of suspects and fellow policemen, illiteracy and incompetence of certain police officers to the mounting of illegal road  blocks. b. Lack of respect for fundamental human rights of every citizen in the discharge of their duties. These rights and liberties take the forefront in the operation of the rule of law in all democracies of the world today. Sadly, even when the Nigerian Constitution of 1999, reserves an entire chapter (the famous chapter iv) declaring and providing for the protection of these rights, the Police still continue to engage in their abuse from time to time. c. There is police lawlessness which begins with small irregularities or illegalities such as the disquieting features of committing crime of falsifying crime records against accused persons. These sorts of events, actions or inactions indulged in by policemen show an open disregard for the principles of the rules of law and civilized conduct which adversely affect police discipline and make mockery of the Nigeria Police force generally.

1.3       Aim And Objectives Of The Study

The main aim of the research is to examine the Nigeria police force and crime prevention in Nigeria: The River State experience. Other specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the role of the Nigeria police force in curbing contemporary crime in River State
2. to determine the relationship between the Nigeria police and growth rate of crime in River State
3. to determine the challenges faced by the Nigeria police force in corruption control and crime prevention in River State
4. to investigate on other factors affecting the performance of the Nigeria police force
5. to proffer solution to the above stated problems
6. To examine the role of the Nigeria Police in the administration of justice.
7. To identify the inadequacies of the police in the discharge of their functions.
8. To proffer practical solutions for combating crimes in Nigeria.

1.4       Significance Of The Study
The study on the Nigeria police force and crime prevention in Nigeria: The River State experience will be of immense benefit to the entire police force in Nigeria, the government (local, state and federal) the People of River State and other researchers that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic as the findings of the study will educate the above population on crime in River State, the causes of crime, the role of the Nigeria police force in curbing contemporary crime in River State, the relationship between the Nigeria police and growth rate of crime in River State and the challenges faced by the Nigeria police force in corruption control and crime prevention in River State. Finally the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge in this field of study and provide a basis for further research. Therefore, the society tends to the following:

i Reduction of Fear of Crime and Increased Quality of Life: While crime is a major issue within society, so too is fear of crime. Crime prevention polices have been shown to be beneficial in reducing not only crime, but also fear of crime Areas in which crime prevention strategies have been employed have been seen to have lower fear of crime, increasing property values and in turn, higher quality of life. It has also been shown that crime prevention strategies such as crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) or restorative justice conferences can directly reduce victim’s fears of re-victimisation

ii Public Support: There is a growing body of evidence that illustrates the high levels of public support  for crime prevention initiatives. As public support is critical for effective public policy, this is a clear benefit for this policy approach highlight that not only is public support for crime prevention high, it is continuing to grow and this is evident in a number of areas.

iii Cost Effectiveness: One of the most influential benefits of crime prevention strategies is cost effectiveness. Multiple cost analyses have deduced that crime prevention is highly effective in regards to serious crime prevented per dollar spent (Greenwood et al 1998). This is especially true in comparison to tough on crime sentencing measures. Overall the main two areas that make crime prevention cost effective are reductions in both the functioning costs of the criminal justice system and costs to victims (Morgan et al 2012). However, depending on the type of crime prevention approach financial savings can be extended to numerous other areas including reductions in special educational programs, reductions in welfare spending and increased tax revenue due to higher wages

1.5       Scope Of the Study

The study on the security information system will help Nigeria police force in curbing contemporary crime, the relationship between the Nigeria police and growth rate of crime in Anambra  State and the challenges faced by the Nigeria police force in corruption control and crime prevention in Anambra State from 2007-2017. Though the advanced surveillance cameras from Industrial Video and Control are not yet in some American cities and even states, Governor Obiano felt that they should be installed in Anambra State so that it will remain Nigeria’s safest state and as a result attract considerable investments. To operate effectively for 24 hours daily, these gadgets require electricity which unfortunately is not always available in Nigeria. The governor consequently opted for the solar-powered type.  As part of the launch of the second round of Operation Kpochapu, 109 vehicles have been procured and equipped with state of the art electronic devices to work in unison with the super smart gadgets. All the pickups in the fleet, 49 of them, are from Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, Nnewi, Anambra State. Select police officers have in the last two months been undergoing training on how to operate the sophisticated CCTVs and the equipment in the new 109 vehicles. The fact that the Anambra State government has chosen to deploy advanced technology in its fight against crime shows a government which does not rest on its laurels. After all, the state has in the last three years become Nigeria’s safest and most peaceful state. But the government is conscious that to retain this status, it has to be at least one step ahead of criminals, many of whom are becoming more sophisticated and more daring. It recognizes that crime can no longer be fought effectively in the traditional way. In the more developed countries of the world, technology has proved immensely useful in crime detection and prevention. We have already cited the example of how FBI’s use of the latest surveillance cameras from the Cambridge Innovation Centre assisted to unmask the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers.

1.6       Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this project work, there were some limitations and problems encountered which includes the following:

Security This is the very significant area of management information system and it should be well secured. All the important as well as the secret data are there stored in an MIS and which is not supposed to seen by anyone outside the company or anyone who is not authorized to do so. However, it happens sometimes and the important data gets seep out of the organization. It affects the company a lot in business and hence the companies should focus more on this security part. Let’s discuss a few ways how the security of an MIS can be broken.

Hackers: At present, a number of people who have excellent IT knowledge hack this kind of system, maybe for money or for some other purposes.

Ex- employees: In some cases, it has been seen that the account of employees are active in MIS site even after they got out from there. Sometimes, these accounts can be used for some negative purposes.

Virus: While the employees of any organization use this system, they should make sure that their operating device or computer is virus free. If the device has dangerous viruses then these can be a concern for the security of the MIS.

Server All the data are stored in a particular server, which is also known as the hosting server. The upload time of any server cannot be 100%. It may be 90% or 99%. But, never can be the fullest. So, the site can be down for anytime. Hence, this is another limitation for management information system.

Internet Same as server, Internet is also a part where MIS has to be dependent. If someone cannot access the net services or the weather is cloudy or maybe the user is in remote or rural area where no network is, then he or she won’t be able to get access of management information system.

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1.7       Definition of Terms/Variables

Contemporary Crimes: in accordance to the study are crimes that are happening at the same time. These crimes are planned and organized

Curbing: restrain or keep in check of crimes in Nigeria

Policing: Policing is another way of depicting the police.

Anti-policing: Anti-policing is the society’s social attitude opposed to war between states and in particular countering arguments based on policism.

Databases: A systematically arranged collection of computer data, structured so that it can be automatically retrieved or manipulated. It is also called a databank.

National Security: The requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, policing, and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.

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