YOUTH PERSPECTIVE ON CRIME FIGHTING USING ICT
By Uduak Nta
Poverty remains the greatest challenge in the Nigerian state and off course Africa as a whole .This has affected the economic state of Nigeria and as such has contributed to the ever increasing rate of crime. The advent of technology has increased the rate of crime and at the same time can facilitate crime fighting.
It therefore means that crime cannot be fought in isolation from poverty .this is to the extent that a critical look at our society today points particularly on poverty.
ICT(Information Communication Technology) therefore presents a veritable tool for poverty eradication and in extension crime.
Crime in Nigeria is another interesting part of the polity in the sense that everyone is doing something about it including all of us. What differs is what exactly each person does. It is either we are partaking in committing the crime or we are fighting against it. Some young people when asked how they see crime in Nigeria they say “it is our national identity any where in the world” others say it “it is a way of life of an average Nigerian”.
Well thank God EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) launched by this present administration sometime ago primarily is to address crime issues. Knowing that crime is an offence against an individual or government which is punishable by law, For the purpose of this paper I shall dwell more on areas of ICT proven to have been effective in crime fighting. it is however pathetic that we seem to play catch up in every area of human existence even in the simplest form of modern day crime interventions. Crime fighting has evolved throughout the world that it now makes great sense to work towards prevention.
THE SITUATION ON GROUND
• In Nigeria today, our security operatives battle day to day to fight criminals whose methods of operation they do not even comprehend for example 4 1 9, Bank Fraud, Fraud in petroleum sector, Oil pipeline vandalization, Money Laundering, Cyber crime, computer hacking.It is interesting to know that one of the increasingly common forms of crime now is CYBER CRIME.
• Our roads have become a heaven for anyone who knows how to break the law to showcase it’s talents in breaking traffic regulations.
• Looting of Government properties and pipeline vandalization has been making top headlines in most of our Nigerian Dailies.
• Also the banks have become some sort of mecca or rendezvous for armed robbers like in recent times. Our security operatives seemed to be bereft of ideas as on how to fight the malaise of money laundering.
• Some of our government functionaries parade certificate or qualifications that can be traced to no institution any where in the world as seen in recent times.
• Election irregularities like rigging ,hijacking of ballot boxes seem to trail all our electoral processes.
• Cyber criminal are light years ahead of the police and some other security operatives whom because they failed to update their knowledge to be abraised with modern day trend in crime fighting have become professional dinosaurs awaiting extinction. The growth in the number of cyber crime and the immense attraction the hold for Nigerians are giving rise to unintended consequences says Jerry Amah.
According to THE SUN NEWSPAPER, 26TH JULY, 2004 – cyber cafes (where most cyber crime occur) have been described as a place where people of diverse cultures and characters meet. it has equally been likened to a virtual market where all manners of business transactions are carried out ,some genuine and some clandestine in nature . Also any operators of cyber cafes are into the business as a source of employment, while others with sinister intentions use to perpetuate fraud related activities.
Anyway in recent times especially from the inception of this administration, it will be so unfair if I fail to commend the effort of the present administration on the bold steps it has taken towards fighting this malady .To mention but a few, Nigerian cyber crime working group (NCWG), Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission(ICPC) ,The media, Law Enforcement Agencies ,Individuals ,NGO’s etc. has demonstrated appreciable commitments .All their efforts have proven effective but more needs to be done to fight crime using ICT.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• In civilized nations of the world, traffic monitoring cameras installed at strategic position and monitored from a central monitoring point and to a great extent assisted law enforcement agency in those countries to checkmate traffic defaulters with their car numbers, colour etc recorded for tracking purposes.
• Satellite communication installed can be used to monitor pipe line vandals and the act of looting Government properties.
• Monitoring cameras can be installed in the banks and linked to a central recording point where a trained personnel on ICT usage keeps track of day to day activities in the bank are recorded and tapes filed, this may help to track armed robbers before, during or after their operations.
• Also cash systems should be designed properly to checkmate major opportunities for laundering as poorly designed systems could crate a major opportunities for money launders.
• E - voting processes could be adopted where elections are conducted with the help of a well computerized systems to check hijacking of ballot boxes and rigging.
• Interconnected database system with pool of information on suspected transactions and individuals could be setup for the nation’s security forces to tap into. This may enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies in tackling new age crime like 419 scam email , money laundering ,cyber crime, computer hacking , identity theft among others.
• Setting up the interconnected data base may not function effectively as this is dependent on the personnel that will work on it. so training and re training of our security outfit (the police) to understand the tools in ICT and to be able to use them will help make this system more effective as crimes committed.
• most especially cyber crimes do not need gun-arrest but intellectual arrest..Cyber crime which has been on the increase since the advent of technology could also be tackled by ‘not only arresting and administering punitive measures but also reform this great asset that is identified in them positively ’……says Mr Emmanuel Ekanem.
• Employing these intellectual criminals to use their skills and trace their colleagues because they know how they work and it will because be so easy identifying them is another means of solving the problem as this is seen in some developing countries.
• The corruption calculator that has just been launched by WANGONET is Internet based and is a form of ICT promises to be a wonderful tool in fighting corruption. This can be very effective for our lying ministries because it may serve as a deterant to our public officer/servants.i am sure they wouldn’t want to be calculated.
• Also internet systems in Government offices can help to reduce crime especially where one has to make some payment or get information from their desk. it will cut down on ‘having to sort” for a fast attention. This will also facilitate e-governance.
• Educational system should adopt internet based form of registration. This will cut down on what is called ‘back yard runs’.
These are my few suggestions and hopefully it may facilitate crime fighting thus reducing the rate of crime in our dear country.
Thank you.
