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Analysis Of Investigation In Criminal Behaviour In Nigeria
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CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
During the closing decades of the twentieth century, owerri justice policy underwent major change. In less than a generation, a justice system that had viewed most young lawbreakers as youngsters whose crimes were the product of immaturity was transformed into one that stands ready to hold many youths to the same standard of criminal accountability it imposes on adults (Elizabeth & Laurence, 2008).
Universally, until 1998, children aged ten to fourteen who were charged with a criminal offence were presumed, in any court hearing, to be doliincapax (‘incapable of evil’); that is, they were presumed not to be capable of knowing that a particular behavior was ‘seriously wrong’ as opposed to being merely ‘naughty’(Elizabeth & Laurence, 2008). In England, for example, it was the responsibility of the prosecution to demonstrate, beyond reasonable doubt, that the child in question was capable of recognizing behavior that was seriously wrong. Children aged between ten and fourteen were thus afforded some procedural protection from the full weight of the criminal law (Newburn, 2002). However, the presumption of doliincapax was abolished in England by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Bandalli, 2000).
Although ‘crime’ is a fiercely contested concept (Muncie, 2001), in legal terms a crime occurs when a specific act that is proscribed in law is committed. An act may have harmful consequences and be regarded as morally reprehensible, but if it is not so proscribed then a criminal offence has not been committed. Therefore anti-social behaviors of the minors should not be considered as a crime. Mooney and Young (2006) argue that anti-social behaviors, as the name implies, should be perceived as infringements of social or moral norms, not criminal codes.
Justice system for minors has gradually developed to what it is today. In South Africa, for example, there are two main factors that promoted the development of justice system for the minors: the number of crimes committed by minors increased through the 1980s and early 1990s, peaking in 1995 (Jansson, 2007); and media coverage of high-profile cases and the frequent portrayal of hooded teenagers terrorizing communities suggested that young people are becoming increasingly criminalized. Indeed, one study found that 71 per cent of media stories about young people were negative and a third of articles concerned the issue of crime (Ipsos MORI, 2006).
Since the inception of a justice system that ensures young law breakers are dealt with in the same standard as adults reports indicate that the levels of crime have decreased and have been stable since 2005/06 (Jansson, 2007). However, although the introduction of the justice system for minors saw a reduction in crimes committed by the youth, it is well-recognized internationally, and in Nigeria, that preventing crime is an essential and effective part of long¬term crime reduction.
In USA and Britain National household surveys have been carried out to measure the level of owerri Ivestigation in crime. Such studies have generally found that offending is widespread amongst youth, but that most offending is relatively minor and transient in nature (Visher & Roth 2010). Large scale self-report studies on representative owerri samples conducted in Australia, such as adolescents in particular schools or in particular suburbs of major cities indicate that owerri offending is widespread (Mak, 2011).
It is not only developed countries that are facing this situation; in developing countries as well there are new pressures on young people undergoing the transition from childhood to independence. In Africa, rapid population growth, the unavailability of housing and support services, poverty, unemployment and underemployment among youth, the decline in the authority of local communities, overcrowding in poor urban areas, the disintegration of the family, and ineffective educational systems are some of the pressures young people must deal with (Ojo, 2012).NIn Nigeria, according to study carried out in Kamiti Youth Corrective Training centre (KYTC) the increase in the number of minors who drop out of school, the escalating poverty and unemployment level, poor parenting strategies and drug abuse among the young people, have seen steep increase of minors involved in crime (Omboto et al. 2013). The study further found out that most of the criminals in the major towns in Nigeria are aged between 15 and 25 years. When these young stars take drugs, they cease to be normal people. They turn to crime to get money for drugs (Makhoha, 2008). is one of the counties in Nigeria that is exposed to the pressures of crime. Several clashes in the county that is led by the youth indicate the delinquency of the youth into criminal activities (Falcetto, 2012).
Strict law enforcement combined with tough criminal justice and sentencing systems, has failed to reduce crime effectively and has led to soaring rates of imprisonment at great cost to governments (Elizabeth & Laurence, 2008). In addition, researchers argue that International evidence indicates that young people, particularly those who are committing first crimes, tend to get involved in a range of crimes rather than specializing in a certain type of crime. In addition, international research shows that young people who commit crime are likely to experience other problems such as bullying, attempted suicide, drug use, lying, hostility and, unprotected sex (Omboto et al., 2013; Akers & Sellers 2008).
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