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StatiSense ANALYSIS OF POLICE COMPLAINT RESPONSE UNIT (CRU) REPORT (Q1 - Q3)

Analysis of npf complaints response unit's reports

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StatiSense

ANALYSIS OF POLICE

COMPLAINT RESPONSE UNIT

(CRU) REPORT (Q1-Q3)

INTRODUCTION“Indeed, I make bold to state that there is no public institution in Nigeria that has exposed itself to public

accountability and self-cleansing initiatives using its in-house control framework than the Nigeria Police Force.

The missing link, it must be admitted, had been the inability of the Nigeria Police to take full advantage that information and communication Technology offers to strengthen its accountability mechanism.

It is in acknowledgement of these policing realities that the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force resolved to

establish the Complaint Response Unit (CRU). The CRU will act as a central, ICT-driven public complaint Unit of

the Force. It will take full advantage of ICT and Social Media platform to interface with the public towards

receiving and processing complaints from members of the public and giving requisite feedback on actions

taken on such complaints. It is designed to complement existing in-house public complaint monitoring and

processing frameworks.

The broad objective of the launch of the CRU is to entrench police accountability values into our policing

system and to galvanize the citizens towards actively participating in the policing framework of the country.”

- IGP SOLOMON E. ARASE, fdc, NPM, DURING THE LAUNCH OF NPF COMPLAINT RESPONSE UNIT (CRU) ON

13TH NOVEMBER, 2015 AT THE FORCE HEADQUARTERS ABUJA

As rightly mentioned, very few Government’s Agencies have deemed it fit to open

themselves up for public scrutiny, and the Nigeria Police Force must be commended for

this giant step. Essential service providers ought to be open to feedback from the public,

that is how they would know how well they are truly serving the public and know exactly

where they can improve on their services.

Kudos to the Nigeria Police Force for taking this step, it shows they are willing to compete

with the private sector in terms of service delivery and be of greater benefit to Nigerians.

Hopefully, this will encourage other Agencies to tow the same line and improve on their

services to Nigerians.

INTRODUCTION

The missing link, it must be admitted, had been the inability of the Nigeria

Police to take full advantage that information and communication Technology offers to strengthen its accountability mechanism

Complaints Collection Complaints Analysis

ICT Offers:

BE

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FIT

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Happiness Protection End Impunity Justice

APPROACHThis is an analysis of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Complaints

Response Unit (CRU). So far, the CRU has released five (5) Reports, they

are:

1) Report of first 30-days (13th Nov – 13th Dec, 2015)

2) CRU First 100 Days Report, Progress so far – (13th Nov, 2015

– 21st Feb, 2016.

3) 2016 First Quarter Report (Jan – Mar, 2016)

4) 2016 Second Quarter Report (April – June 2016)

5) 2016 Third Quarter Report (July – Sept 2016)

1) Report Dated 18th December, 2015 | 2) Released on Monday 22nd of February, 20163) Release Date: 11th April, 2016 |4) Release Date: 20th July, 2016 |5) Release Date: 13th October 2016

The CRU First 100 Days Report is analysed in isolation since it intersected

both the 30-days and the First Quarter Reports. This analysis will critique;

the CRU complaints Framework, Indicators, Channels and entire report

across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT with the sole

purpose of providing necessary feedback that aims to improve thecomplaints process and ultimately help achieve these four objectives –Happiness, Protection, End Impunity, and Justice.

THE COMPLAINTS RESPONSE UNIT’S SYSTEM

PEOPLE

PROCESS

TECHNOLOGY

111

CRU Responding Agents I

1"CRU Responding Agent II" at each of the Divisional Police Stations across the country

Public complaint monitoring and processing frameworks

Calls, SMS, Emails, WhatsApp, Facebook,

WWW, BBM, Twitter

P E O P L E

HUMAN RESOURCES

The current number of CRU Agents would not be sufficient to cater for Citizens’ reports assuming All Nigerians from Age 15 and above have reportable interactions with the Police.

QUANTITY: CRU AGENT

111 CRU Responding Agents I

+1,130 CRU Responding Agent II

AGE GROUP ( ≥ 15 Years):

112 Million Nigerians

Estimated over 1,130 Divisional Police Stations across the country (2009 NPF Annual Report)

1 CRU Agent to Over 90,000+ Citizens

2016 Population Projection, National Population Council.

P R O C E S S

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS

INDICATORS

Benefit/ Entitlement Related (Nok)Demanding Money For Bail

Dirty in PersonDistress Call

Excessive Use of ForceIncivility

Police Involvement in Civil CaseProfessional Misconduct

Traffic RelatedUnrelated/ False

Reports:

30 Days,

Q1,

Q2,

Q3.

100 DaysAbuse of Power

Benefit/ Entitlement Related (Nok)Demanding Money For Bail

Dirty in PersonExcessive Use of Force

ExtortionInactionIncivility

Police Involvement In Civil CasePolice Report Related

Professional MisconductTraffic Related

One critical thing lacking in the Framework is the definitions of the Indicators. As such, they are

open to interpretation and can easily be misunderstood. For instance, what would constitute

“Excessive Use of Force”?

It is not exactly clear why some Indicators were dropped after the 100-Days report, indicators

such as Abuse of Power, Extortion, Inaction, and Police Report Related are critical to ensuring

the promised benefits of CRU are realised.

No Indicator specifically measures the Good behavior of the Police. For instance, if “Dirty in

Person” (which is also subjective) can be used as an indicator, “Neat in Person” or an indicator

that describes the appearance of the Police should be included. Force Men & Women need

to be encouraged when they have acted in good fate, exercise due diligence, and served

exceptionally in the discharge of their duties.

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS - Recommendation

Develop a Framework comprising of Indicators that provide adequate

measure for the Outcomes/Benefits the CRU hopes to achieve. Below are

recommendation for consideration;

BE

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Happiness Protection End Impunity Justice

Design a 4-Dimensional Framework comprising of these Domains or Dimensions:

Happiness

Protection

End Impunity

Justice

Develop and provide definitions (with examples) to minimum of three

Indicators under each Dimension to specifically measure the Dimensions

WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE!

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS - Recommendation

PUNISHMENT

Reports showed some Officers found culpable were dismissed,

penalized or being investigated. This is a plus to show that actions are

being taken on complaints. The CRU may also consider that cases

under investigation should have timelines for closure. For instance,

cases reported under investigation in Q1 should be closed andreported in Q2 Report. This will endear Citizens to embrace the CRU as

a reliable channel to get timely justice.

REWARD & MOTIVATION

While it is ideal to punish misbehavior so as to deter others, it is equally

of greater advantage to reward behaviors we hope to see our Police

force display. This is why it is important to include indicators that can

measure the experience of Citizens in their interactions with the Police.

"BELIEVE IT! HIGH EXPECTATIONS ARE THE

KEY TO EVERYTHING." - SAM WALTON

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS – Review of Reports

Three Indicators stand out from the table above:

Professional Misconduct – 49% (Lagos – 27%, FCT – 13%, Rivers – 8%).

Demanding Money for Bail – 18% (Lagos – 18%, Rivers – 15%, FCT – 11%).

Excessive Use of Force – 13% (Lagos – 26%, FCT – 18%, Rivers – 8%).

Indicator 30 Days Q1 Q2 Q3 Total

Excessive Use of Force 22 313 42 98 475

Dirty In Person 0 7 1 0 8

Distress Call 123 0 0 0 123

Traffic Related 49 36 26 1 112

Unrelated/ False 66 0 0 0 66

Incivility 75 53 2 0 130

Demanding Money For Bail 135 178 202 144 659

Professional Misconduct 623 396 597 154 1770

Benefit/ Entitlement Related (NOK) 174 49 11 5 239

Police Involvement in Civil Case 0 22 25 3 50

1267 1054 906 405 3632

While the reports show over 300% decline in complaints, “Excessive Useof Force” has grown over 400% from Nov 2015 when the 30-Days Report

was issued.

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS – Review of Reports

Three Indicators stand out from the table above:

Professional Misconduct – 41% (Lagos – 33%, Ogun – 10%, FCT – 8%).

Demanding Money for Bail – 15% (Lagos – 18%, FCT – 13%, Rivers – 7%).

Benefit/ Entitlement Related (NOK) – 12% (Lagos – 27%, Rivers/FCT/Delta – 9%,).

Clearly, the two Indicators that need further examination and

monitoring are Professional Misconduct & Demanding Money for Bail.

Indicator 100-Days %

Excessive Use Of Force 84 4.32

Dirty In Person 2 0.10

Traffic Related 54 2.77

Incivility 117 6.01

Demanding Money For Bail 298 15.31

Professional Misconduct 801 41.16

Benefit/ Entitlement Related (NOK) 224 11.51

Extortion 86 4.42

Police Report Related 14 0.72

Police Involvement in Civil Case 67 3.44

Inaction 54 2.77

Abuse of Power 145 7.45

Total 1,946

Excessive

Use Of Force

Dirty In

Person

Unrelated

/ FalseIncivility

Demanding

Money For Bail

Professional

Misconduct

Benefit/ Entitlement

Related (NOK)

Police Involvement

in Civil Case

Distress

Call

Traffic

Related

NC 23.58 75.00 10.61 19.23 20.33 19.77 15.90 32.00 24.39 32.14

NE 3.16 - 19.70 0.77 3.95 1.92 5.44 4.00 4.88 1.79

NW 3.37 - - 2.31 2.73 4.58 6.69 6.00 7.32 0.89

SE 13.47 - 6.06 6.92 17.15 12.43 10.04 20.00 2.44 6.25

SS 20.84 - 13.64 16.15 30.96 22.60 25.94 12.00 20.33 18.75

SW 35.58 25.00 50.00 54.62 24.89 38.70 35.98 26.00 40.65 40.18

Excessive Use of Force isrampant in SW (Lagos, Ogun,Oyo), NC (FCT, Nasarawa), & SS(River, Edo, Delta)

Dirty in Person is reported NC(75%) and SW (25%). NC – FCT &Kogi. SW – Lagos.

Unrelated / False is mostcaptured in SW (Lagos), & NE(Bauchi, Taraba)

Incivility is excess in SW (Lagos,

Ogun) and NC (FCT, Plateau).

Demanding Money For Bail isprevalent in SS (Rivers, Delta), SW(Lagos, Ogun) and NC (FCT).

Professional Misconduct is morelikely to occur in SW (Lagos,Ogun), SS (Rivers, Delta), & NC

(FCT, Benue)

Benefit/ Entitlement Related(NOK) is high in SW (Lagos,Ogun), SS (Rivers, Delta), & NC

(FCT, Benue/Niger)

Police Involvement in Civil Caseis frequent in NC (FCT), SW(Lagos, Ogun), & SE (Ebonyi,

Enugu)

Distress Call is experienced more in SW

(Lagos, Ogun) and NC (FCT, Kogi/Kwara), &SS (Delta, Rivers)

Traffic Related is often reported in SW(Lagos, Ogun) and NC (FCT, Nasarawa), &SS (Rivers, Cross Rivers)

FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS – Review of Reports

www

Calls

T E C H N O L O G Y

COMPLAINTS COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

The CRU excellently adopts and adapt latest communication channels such as

Social Media to receive Citizens’ complaints.

0805 700 0001

0805 700 0002 0805 700 0003 @PoliceNG_CRU

www.facebook.com/npfcomplaint

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.npf.gov.ng/complaint

COMPLAINTS COMMUNICATION CHANNELSThe CRU excellently adopts and adapt latest communication channels such as

Social Media to receive Citizens’ complaints.

Channel / Platform 30 Days Q1 Q2 Q3 Total %Phone Calls 1,012 797 537 294 2,640 72.69

WhatsApp 119 179 166 55 519 14.29

SMS 46 12 10 2 70 1.93

Email 40 25 51 19 135 3.72

Twitter 26 14 85 20 145 3.99

Facebook 14 10 22 6 52 1.43

Blackberry Messenger (BBM) 5 10 3 1 19 0.52

Via Hard Copy Letter 5 7 32 8 52 1.43

1267 1054 906 405 3,632

Nov 13, 2015 to Sept 30, 2016 = 305 Days

Total Reported Complaints = 3,632

≈ 12 Complaint Per Day!

Period Complaint Per Day

2015 (31 Days) 41

Q1 (91 Days) 12

Q2 (91 Days) 10

Q3 (92 Days) 4

COMPLAINTS COMMUNICATION CHANNELS73% of Complaints come from Phone Calls – making the phone lines Toll Free

would encourage more Citizens to report.

Ensuring also that CRU Agent are multilingual including the ability to

communicate in Pidgin-English, will go a step further to encourage Citizens to

report. Region Total %

North Central (NC) 754 20.76

North East (NE) 112 3.08

North West (NW) 147 4.05

South East (SE) 454 12.50

South South (SS) 847 23.32

South West (SW) 1,318 36.29

3,632

North East and North West have the least complaints – with no single complaint

from Kebbi State, Jigawa (2), Yobe (50), Gombe (7), Sokoto (9), Ekiti (11), and

Borno (13).

Is this a case of “No Issue”, lack of contact with Police Officers or lack of

awareness? Clearly, it appears to be of lack of awareness of CRU or

affordability of communication channels.

Thought should be given to the number of CRU Agent per State; statistically, it

would make more sense to assign more Agents to SW, SS, and NC as more

Complaints are received from these regions.

CAUSE & EFFECT – Not That Straight In This Case!

The sharp reduction in total

number of complaints against

the police during the period

under review (June-September,

2016) as against the second

quarter can be attributed to the

fact that police officers are

becoming more professional in

carrying out their policing duties,

awareness about the medium

provided to the public to report

misconduct and the stand of the

current leadership of the Force

on zero tolerance to all forms of

professional misconduct.

HOW CORRELATED IS DROP IN COMPLAINTS WITH

PROFESSIONALISM OF THE POLICE?

CAUSE & EFFECT – Not That Straight In This Case!With just 3,632 Complaints in 305 days (less than a year), the complainants are

a weak representation of the Population and it is too early to reach the

conclusion that the Police are becoming more professional in carrying out

their policing duties!

Questions:Does a high number of crime complaints indicate an increase in victimization (a

bad thing) or an increase in people’s confidence in the police (a good thing)?

Does a high number of arrests indicate that the police are engaging in

aggressive enforcement (a good thing) or that they are not being proactive and

are allowing crimes to occur (a bad thing)?

High numbers of citizen complaints may indicate an abusive police force, but they may be an indication that the complaint process is well

publicized and the filing process is free of barriers.

It follows, then, that an indicator should rarely be used on its own. To interpret

changes in ambiguous indicators, you should always use a group or “basket”

of indicators relating to the same policy objective. Baskets of indicators

provide a more valid, reliable, and rounded view of policy progress.(Vera Institute of Justice, 2003, p. 7).

Selected International Best Practices in Police Performance Measurement.RAND Center on Quality Policing, Technical Report (Robert C. Davis)

CONCLUSION

It is first and foremost commendable for the Nigeria Police Force to

take the giant step of embracing global standard of policing by

soliciting complaints from members of the public and giving requisite

feedback on actions taken on such complaints. The framework

guiding this process need to be defined and refined to meet

standard practice that will elicit the right feedback leading to a

reliable, valid and verifiable conclusion of the progress of the Police.

BE

NE

FIT

S

Happiness Protection End Impunity Justice

WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE!

Reference –

REPORT OF FIRST 30-DAYS, December 2015.

CRU First 100 Days Report, Progress So Far. February, 2016.

2016 First Quarter Report. April, 2016.

2016 Second Quarter Report. July, 2016.

2016 Third Quarter Report. October, 2016.

Analyst: Wale Micaiah

e: [email protected]

m: 08078001800

w: www.statisense.com

Freely share, freely use and

freely acknowledge the

source – © Wale Micaiah