POLICE FUNCTIONING EFFECTIVENESS AND POLICE-COMMUNITY INTERACTION AS PREDICTORS OF CRIME CONTROL IN AWKA METROPOLIS, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated police functioning effectiveness and police-community interaction as predictors of crime control in Awka metropolis Anambra State, Nigeria. Participants were 100 (73 females and 27 males) with mean-age 26.41 and SD 6.13 sampled with cluster and incidental techniques. Instruments were Effectiveness of Police Functioning Scale, Police-Community Interaction Survey, and Crime Control Scale. With cross-sectional design and Hierarchical Linear Regression, result showed significant predicting influence between effectiveness of police functioning and crime control, F(1, 98) = 47.92; p<.01; β = .57; t = 6.92; significant predicting influence between police-community interaction and crime control, F(1, 98) = 54.716; p<.01; β = .59; t = 7.39; and joint predicting influence of policecommunity interaction and effectiveness of police functioning on crime control, F(2,97) = 34.79; R = .65b; R² Adjusted = .418; ΔR² = .406. Crime control and security are therefore joint task between the people and Police.