A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STRUCTURES OF POLICE SYSTEMS IN NIGERIA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Abstract

Nigeria is the only federation that operates a federal system with a single police force. This unique feature of the Nigerian Federation has created a number of challenges: it hampers the discharge of the major duty of the police which is protection of lives and property, makes prompt prevention and detection of crime difficult, and apprehension of offenders a herculean task. In contrast to Nigeria, the United States operates a federal system with multiple police forces that cater for the entire federation. Unlike Nigeria, each tier of government in the United States has its own police force with the local government or counties having the bulk of these forces. The presence of these police forces facilitates the detection and prevention of crime, makes apprehension of offender an easy task and ultimately ensures the protection of lives and property. It is against the backdrop of this contrast that this paper examines the structure of the police systems in Nigeria and the United States of America. This paper adopts a doctrinal method of analysis as it examines the legal framework of the structure of the police forces in Nigeria and the United States given the fact that both counties practice federalism. The paper concludes that the United States possesses a better structure than Nigeria, a finding that compels its writer to recommend that the latter should adopt the structure of the former.