Perceived Usefulness of E-policing Technology in Property Crimes detection and Control among Police Personnel in Selected Southeast Police Commands, Nigeria

Abstract

Technology application in the 21^st century has been acknowledged as a panacea for sustainable socio-economic advancement in almost all facets of development, of which, policing is not an exception. Yet the applicability of technology by individuals and groups cannot be dissociated from their perceived usefulness of technology within the context of their daily endeavours. This study investigated the perceived usefulness of Electronic Policing (E-Policing) technology in property crimes detection and control among police personnel in selected police commands, Southeast Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. The proportionate stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 605 respondents who participated in the study through a questionnaire administration. Data collected from the survey coded into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software package version 26, which aided in processing all the relevant data. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics including frequency count and simple percentage. Data analysed were presented using frequency table and charts. The chi-square statistical test was further performed to examine the relationship between selected covariates and perceived usefulness of e-policing technology in property crimes detection and investigation among the police personnel. Findings of the study showed that there was seemingly neutrality in the perception of the police personnel in terms of the usefulness of e-policing in detecting and investigating property crimes within the Southeast zone of Nigeria. The study therefore recommended the need for Information Technology (IT)-based recruitment system in the NPF, as this would ensure that only individuals who have the ability to manipulate computers are recruited into the NPF.