PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE POLICE AND CYBERCRIME VICTIMS IN ENUGU METROPOLIS

The study evaluated the Public perception of the police and cybercrime victims in Enugu Metropolis. The specific objectives of the study are to: Examine the relationship between public perception of cybercrime victims and police handling of cybercrime victims and ascertain the relationship between factors that predispose one to fall cybercrime victim and cybercrime in Enugu Metropolis. The area of the study was Enugu State. The cross-sectional design was used. The study adopted simple, cluster, systematic and purpose random sampling technique in selecting the sample unit and the sample size for the study which was, 742 out of a total population of 1,015,855 of the residents of the three Local Government Areas in Enugu metropolis, Enugu state Nigeria derived with the use of Ferund Williams formula. 520 respondents returned the questionnaire accurately filled, which gave 72 percent response rate. Data were presented and analyzed using mean score and standard deviation. The hypotheses were analyzed using the Z-.test. The findings indicated that there was significant positive relationship between public perception of cybercrime victims and police handling of cybercrime victims, Z (17.445, P. <. 05) and there was significant positive relationship between the factors that predispose one to fall victim of cybercrime, Z (17. 536, P. <. 05). The study concluded that the police perception of cybercrime victims, factors that predispose one to fall victim of cybercrime,the most victims of cybercrime, the strategies the police employed to deal with the cybercrime and the cybercrime victims are perceived in Enugu Metropolis. The recommended among others that there is need for security agents to have various technologies which act as tools that can be utilized in combating crime. For example: CCTV, Social Media, GPS and GIS tracking technologies. ICT tools like Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), emergency call systems, GPS tracker, biometric scanner, for improved security