An Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Strategies of Crime Control Adopted by Vigilante Groups in Benue State

Abstract

Crime control agencies across the globe are saddled with the task of devising suitable, reliable and dependable strategies to checkmate crime. However, these devised strategies of crime control appeared not to have yielded the desired solution to crime problem. The objectives of the paper were to: assess the effectiveness of vigilante groups’ crime control strategies in Benue State and suggest ways of improving the activities of vigilante groups in Benue State. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Three Local Governments Areas-Vandeikya, Gboko, and Oju were selected across the three Senatorial districts in Benue State for the study. The population of the study was vigilante officers, religious leaders, traditional rulers and members of the public. Questionnaire and key informant interview (KII) were used to generate data from 367 respondents using Taro Yamane sample size determination formula. Twelve interviews (12) were conducted across the sampled Local Government Areas. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling were employed for the selection of respondents and informants. Quantitative data were presented in frequency and percentages while qualitative data were presented in narrative form. The study findings revealed that vigilante groups adopted surveillance, street barricade, intelligence gathering and mediation as their strategies of crime control in Benue State. Findings revealed that crime control strategies adopted by vigilante groups were effective. The study recommends the following among others: enactment of laws recognizing vigilante groups; vigilante groups should be provided with the needed crime fighting equipment by stakeholders; activities of vigilante groups should be funded adequately; vigilante groups should be provided with logistics support as well as proper training of vigilante operatives for enhanced performances.