Combating the Threat of Crime in the Security of the Bauchi Local Government Area Using Geospatial Technology

Abstract

The dynamics of crime and its nature expose the State to the security threat. The types of criminal activities perpetrated within the communities, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and car and motorcycle snatching, are rapidly increasing. These crimes have” threatened security in Bauchi Local Government and hence the need to check by providing relevant information using modern technology. The geospatial technique combined with the Key Informant Interview approach was adopted to evaluate the intensity of insecurity in Bauchi LGA; from the data collected and analysed, it was established that criminal activities are increasing in various areas leading to the rapid increase in crime hotspots. As a result, the security agency needs to improve the nature of its functionality in combating crimes. Despite the fact that 70.35% of the security agency outpost are functional while 29.62% of the Outpost are non-functional, the security agency recorded 1081 crimes in 2020, which increased to 1142 crimes in 2021 and 1640 in 2022. Also, looking at the 645,000-population density of Bauchi LGA and the ratio of security personnel to individuals of 1:3581, which need to meet the United Nations standard of a ratio of 1:450. Given this, it was recommended that the State create job opportunities and skill acquisition training for unemployed youth roaming the streets. The security agency needs to develop a new strategy for combatting the security threat using geospatial technology and frequent production of security threat maps and their mitigation.