source;http://www.joisaysblog.com/2012/11/we-cant-survive-without-robbery-3-blood.html#more
*actus reus *Mens Rea *Harm *Causation *Concurrence *Legality *Punishment
However for the sake of this piece,i will only expatiate on the first element to back up my assertions concerning the importance of social service..
Ps; these are my personal views but i appreciate any dissenting opinions thanks
Its easy to castigate them using the oft quoted "They are responsible for their actions"However it seems to me this is yet another sign that the nation is slowly sleep walking into a social crisis which if not quickly nipped in the bud the escalation of crime will progressively worsen than it is presently.
At the risk of being labelled an idealistic progressive,it is patently obvious that the draconian prison regimes,Nigerian police treatment of suspects and even jungle justice has failed and is not the answer to dealing with crime and social delinquency.A completely new format has to be fashioned out if the government/criminal justice system wants a fighting chance of conquering the behemoth of crime in the society.CRIMINAL JUSTICE in his entirety has to be used more as a tool for social control and not just brute police force which does not take so many pertinent background informations into consideration.
Looking at a cursory background of the siblings,it is patently obvious that they have been failed by the society.They lost their parents at an early age,dearth of suitable opportunities added to this is the absence of suitable positive role models the inevitable result was always going to lead to this ignoble end.
Getting the criminal justice system set up properly and used in crime fighting and social control entails a buttom up approach to crime fighting,not reacting when its too late but dealing with the problem at its inception.For instance how many of the criminals/perpetuators does the social service work with actively?
How many of them does the social service actually make their background including mitigating factors available to the judge pre-sentencing?
Where are the mentoring programmes for youths in the society,especially the disadvantaged youths who are more prone and likely to get involved in a life of crime?
criminal justice catalogues the elements of crime as the following
"The actus reus includes the state of affairs or circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence, together with the results or consequences (if any) that flow from that act or omission. It is essential that the defendant acted voluntarily and that he caused the injury, damage or harm.
In other words, actus reus includes all the elements of the offence indicated in the definition except the mens rea (the state of mind), if any"
Without going further into the fundamentals of crime and social justice/service another very important issue concerning the nigerian police which has been sorely neglected is the issue of police and policing in the society
If you ask the average Nigerian about the police,there is a huge valley of mistrust and disconnect between the police force and those they claim to be serving.Coupled with this is the ever present vice called corruption and indiscipline in the police force.
For the police to bridge the gap and gain the trust and confidence of their constituents,a lot more attention needs to be paid to community policing.its not enough to site a police post in a community they have to be seen to interact with the community,gain their trust ,mix with them and socialise with them as well,allegations brought against any member of the police by the public must be dealt with and justice seen to be done by the public.its not so much the checkpoint but the attitude and behaviour unchecked of the police personnel stationed therein.
The police must be seen to be approachable,warm and friendly towards their constituents,this way informants amongst the community will feel free to approach them in confidence.Moreover they in concert with the community can develop mentoring programmes and other activities geared towards the youths to forestall them from indulging in crime.The police can also serve to bridge the vast abyss existing between the rich and poor,this is really important in order to erase perceived resentment the poor victims will naturally feel concerning the average rich and also it will serve to correct wrong or erroneous impressions.
The internal issues and vices plaguing the nigerian police force which includes the rot of corruption,crass indiscipline,attitudes,enlightenment,education e.t.c cannot be looked at in this piece as it is not only complex but requires an adequate and in-depth scholarly review.This is not helped by the difficulties in getting valid,up to date and reliable statistics.After searching for up to date statistics without much luck i had to rely on the ones i could find this is an epic fail and is an issue that needs to be remedied.
However,for the purpose of this piece the criminal justice system in concert with a robust community policing is the key in my opinion to tackling the issue of run away crime in nigeria but more importantly amongst the youths.
sources;http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigerian-prisons-death-traps-or-reform-centres-/115669/
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigerian-prison-s-rising-population/77570/
http://dspace.unijos.edu.ng/bitstream/10485/192/1/27%20NIGERIAN%20PRISONS%20REFORM.pdf
For more alarming facts about the paucity of statistics concerning the nigerian criminal justice please read this http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/WFBCJNIG.TXT
http://www.elombah.com/index.php/articles-mainmenu/9135-nigerias-criminal-justice-system-problems-and-challenges-v15-9135
http://www.nairaland.com/614689/criminal-justice-system-failed-nigerian
http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/interview/7652-nigerias-criminal-justice-system-is-sick-barrister-ige
Ps; these are my personal views but i appreciate any dissenting opinions thanks
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