Knowledge of Nigerian Policemen about Modern Forensics

Abstract

The Nigeria Police force has been maligned in recent times for their inability to solve some sensational crimes in the country. Although the problems of the Nigeria Police force have been attributed to its origins as a coercive force and the many years of Military rule in Nigeria, the knowledge and use of forensic techniques by the Nigeria Police was investigated in this study, the population was drawn from participants of a course in the Police Staff College, Jos and almost all were graduates. Social science and Art graduates made up 85.9% of respondents. Science graduates made up only 10.8% of respondents. 81.6% of respondents did not know what next to do if they could not extract a confessional statement from their suspects. The science graduates had a much better understanding of forensics than the other respondents. We conclude by advising the recruitment of more science graduates into the Nigeria Police force and introduction of elaborate forensic science and medicine lectures into the curricular in the Police training Schools.

Keywords: Forensic, DNA, Police, Forensic Odontology.