Community Trust and the Dynamics of Nigeria Police Emergency Response

Community trust is one major ingredient of successful policing particularly during emergencies when they are very much required by the citizens. In Nigeria, however, there is low trust towards the police due to colonial laxity, corruption, abuse of human rights and systemic impunity. Research addresses the issue of community trust and its impact on police emergency response. It was based on the use of pertinent literature and case studies. The theoretical framework adopted was the social capital theory that considers the importance of trust, obligations and mutual norms in order to arrange concerted activities to achieve mutual objectives. Findings show that absence of trust has been fatal in Nigeria due to decades of ineffective police-community relations based on historical inclinations of colonial policing practices compounded by institutional malpractice and reinforced by daily experiences of extortion. To achieve the rebuilding of trust, the enforcement of honest reforms should be done based on transparency and accountability and actively participating in community services to boost the legitimacy and efficacies of the police emergency response services in Nigeria.