CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY POLICING IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA: HISTORICAL LEGACIES AND CONTEMPORARY REFORMS
Keywords:
Community Policing, Plateau State, Ethno-religious Conflicts, Farmer-Herder Violence, Police-Community Partnerships, Security Sector ReformAbstract
Community policing represents a critical shift in Nigeria from reactive, militarised policing to collaborative, trust-based approaches focused on crime prevention and addressing root socio-economic causes. Shaped by colonial legacies of repression, post-independence militarisation, and persistent ethno-religious and farmer-herder conflicts, its implementation continues to face significant structural and contextual challenges. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the historical evolution, motivations, police-community partnerships, and multifaceted obstacles to community policing, with Plateau State as a primary case study. Drawing on the 2019 National Community Policing Policy and the Plateau State Community Policing Programme (PSCPP), the paper further examines developments from 2023–2025, including UNODC-supported training programmes and the ongoing UNODC Nigeria Country Programme (2026–2030). It also notes the expansion of youth recruitment into Operation Rainbow (over 1,000 youths announced in 2025, with 1,450 operatives commissioned in December 2025) and state-wide awareness campaigns. However, the long-term outcomes of these recent initiatives remain unassessed. A 2022 study on community policing in Plateau State identified inadequate funding, lack of trust, political interference, corruption, inadequate training, and limited community participation as persistent major barriers. In Plateau State, violence such as the Christmas Eve 2023 attacks that killed over 140 people in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi LGAs, along with continued incidents across Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu, and Bassa LGAs in 2024–2025, has resulted in widespread farm abandonments and heightened food insecurity. The paper concludes that sustainable progress depends on addressing systemic mistrust, resource constraints, elite manipulation, and socio-political complexities through culturally adapted, inclusive, and locally rooted frameworks.
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