Psychological factors as predictors of readiness to combat crime among police officers in Osun State Command, Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing crime rate and apparent reduction in combatting crime by law enforcement agencies in Nigeria, particularly the Nigerian Police, deserve attention from a psychological point of view. This study examined the extent to which locus of control and emotional intelligence (EI) predict readiness to combat crime among police officers in Osun State Police Command, Nigeria. The study used primary data embedded in a descriptive survey design. A multistage sampling technique was adopted to obtain data from the sample population. Three police area commands in Osun State, namely Osogbo, Ile-Ife and Ilesa, were selected for the study. The sample comprised 258 police officers selected using a stratified random technique with different units of command as the basis of stratification. Three instruments, the Work Locus of Control Scale, Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale and Readiness to Combat Crime Scale were used. Data were analysed using descriptive (percentage count) and inferential statistics (linear regression and t-test). The results showed that locus of control did not significantly predict readiness to combat crime among police officers in Osun State Command [ F(1,214) = 0.371; p > 0.05], whereas EI [ F(1,225) = 131.045; p < 0.05] did. The study concluded that EI successfully predicted readiness to combat crime among police officers in Osun State Command, whereas locus of control had no influence.

Linking Organizational Justice to Organizational Commitment Among Nigerian Police Officers

“…A complex working environment is inclined to stir strong feelings of organizational dismay and even injustice, causing a vast array of undesirable outcomes. Officers may feel devalued, leading to doubt about their self-worth (Ayinde & Ayegun, 2018). Scholars also pointed out that Nigeria officers commit to their organization because of economic reasons, rather than having affection for the police department or work, contributing to the widespread problem of police corruption (Aremu et al, 2011).…”

Emotional intelligence in policing: a state-of-the-art review

“…Two studies found significant positive relationships between EI and officer job performance, even when controlling for important factors like cognitive abilities and personality traits (Al Ali et al, 2012;Gbadeyan et al, 2017). Similarly, another study found a significant positive relationship between EI and readiness to combat crime (Ayinde and Ayegun, 2018). Only one study examined whether EI could be related to reduced misconduct behaviors in police officers.…”

“…Table 1 reports a citation, research setting, method, sample description, EI-specific research question, EI measure and EI conceptual model for each of the studies screened into our review. We initially attempted to report the year of data collection for each study, but this information was only included in three papers (Arnatt and Beyerlein, 2014; Ayinde and Ayegun, 2018; Lokesh et al , 2016), so the decision was made to remove the column from the table. We identified 20 studies conducted in 9 countries.…”