Use of Mobile Phones in Nigeria to Prevent Crime

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of mobile phones by police officers in crime prevention in Lagos city. Methodology: This study employed random stratified sampling procedure. Questionnaires were used for data collection for both qualitative and quantitative data.  Qualitative data was coded and analyzed thematically after interpretation of theme while descriptive data was analyzed using descriptive statistics by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0). Findings: Mobile phone was found to be an effective tool in prevention of crime in Lagos City. Mobile phone uses such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, emails and short text messages were found through adapted technology acceptance model (TAM) as to effectively contribute to crime prevention based on respondents’ perspective. Conclusion: The study concludes that police effort to use mobile technology was found to have significant effects on crime prevention.   Recommendation: The study recommends development of customized police mobile phone applications and enhancements.