AN ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR VIGILANTE OPERATIONS IN CRIME PREVENTION IN AKINYELE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA IBADAN OYO STATE NIGERIA

The prevention and control of crime in the community are the principal aims of formal government agencies in society. Various institutional challenges have contributed to the inability of the police to provide adequate security of lives and property have birthed the establishment of various informal security outfits (vigilantes). The study examined the involvement of vigilantes in crime prevention in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. It examined operational guidelines through the existing policy thrust guiding the vigilantes. The theoretical orientation was based on the social bond theory. The descriptive research design was used and this key informant interviews (KII) and in-depth interviews (IDI). The study involved 22 respondents engaged in 4 KII sessions and 18 IDI sessions from various community organizations, recruited through random and multistage purposive sampling techniques. The data was analyzed using Atlas.ti 23 thematic and content analysis software. The study found no rigid guidelines for informal security outfits, and various vigilante groups operated based on their code of conduct. The study therefore recommends the creation of a unified regulatory paradigm for all informal security outfits to harmonize their operations in crime prevention. Keywords: Vigilantism, policy thrust, crime prevention, operational techniques, security.