Police and Criminal Prevention in Nigeria Essay Example

Police and Criminal Prevention in Nigeria Essay The importance of law and order to orderly development and growth of a society, both in the physical and economic sence, cannot be over emphasized. It is only a mind that is secured and at peace that can rationally address the issues of procreation, economic development and societal growth. A disturbed mind is a restless and distraught personality. It is therefore imperative to have peace and order in the society to assure its growth and development.The role of law enforcement in the maintenance of peace and order in the society is a foregone conclusion. Every man by nature is selfish and self-centred;1 in most case he needs the presence of the state institution of law enforcement to be able to act right and just. Studies in anthropology and law show that however one goes back into the history of a people, one would find regulatory rules of conduct and mechanisms for enforcing these rules. The evolution of these mechanism has taken different shapes in different settings, depending on the political, social and economic stages of development of the people concerned. Thus irrespective of the people, state or nation concerned, the presence of law enforcement agencies in the body polity of the state is a sine qua non for safety of lifes and properties in a state. The place of the police in the scheme of things with respect to law enforcement cannot be over emphasized. Along sides, and times above all, others law enforcement3 agencies, the police provide and assure the internal security of the nation. ____________________________________________ Tunde Otubu LLB LLM BL Lecturer Faculty of Law, University of Lagos Akoka. 1.Thomas Hobbes Theory of Law of Nature 2 Tinubu K. O. â€Å"The Police and Administration of Justice in Nigeria in proceedings of the conference of NationalElectronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1126645 at 113 Association of Law Teachers held at Unilag on. 24-25 March 1972 page 112 3. Order Law Enforcement Agencies include the Army N DLEA, EFCC, CUSTOM SERVICES, State Security Services (SSS), Immigration Services, Prison Services etc 2. Realizing the important role of the police in state security scheme the Royal commission on Police in United Kingdom commented in 1962 that the maintenance of law and order ranks with national defence as a primary task of government. It is an essential condition of a nation’s survival and happiness†4 In furtherance of the foregoing there are several legislations and regulations put in place to assist the police at carrying out this duty of protection of life and properties of the citizen and the provision of internal security of the nation. One of such legislation is the Police Act. By virtue of the provision of section 4 of the Police Act. The police shall be employed for the prevention5 and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulation with which they are directly changed. †6 Arising from the above provision and in line with the topic of this paper we shall be focusing primarily on the prevention of crime duties of the police. This is not to suggest that this duty can be totally insolated and discussed from other related duties of the police, however the paper shall dwell much rather than the prosecution responsibilities.To do justice to topic the paper shall, outside the introduction, proceed to examine the concept of crime prevention and its corollary crime detection. It will then proceed to identify the legal framework or regime put in place to assist and ensure the realisation of the object of crime prevention and detection under Nigeria law. In doing this, the various schemes and practices of crime prevention and detection strategies being used and that may be used by the police in _______________________________________________________ 4. UK Royal Commission on Police (1962) cited by Tinubu K.O. , The Poli ce and Administration of Justice in Nigeria Proceedings of the Conference of NALTS 1972. 5. Cap 359 laws of Federation of Nigeria 1990 http://ssrn. com/abstract=1126645 Electronic copy available at: 6. Emphasis supplied 3. furtherance of their responsibilities under the police Act as stated above, shall be examined while also discussion the role of the members of the community in the exercise. In the conclusion the paper will then offer suggestion and reforms to the current regime in order to move the police institution forward in the new millennium.However before delving into the sequence outlined above it is appropriate to do a little study on who the policeman is and where does he derive his powers. An understanding and appreciation of such concept will go a long way at furthering our understanding of the complicities and inticracies of the work and role of the police in crime detection and prevention and the place of members of the public in the scheme of thing. We therefore pos e the question, who is a policeman? A. THE POLICEThe police have variously been referred to, rightly or wrongly as â€Å"the first line of defence of the nation†, â€Å"the first line of attack by the public,† â€Å"the keeper of the public’s peace†7. To the average Nigerian, the police represents the most visible epitome of the established authority, the sustainers of the status quo or the government of the day8. This perception of the police is traceable to the historical antecedent of the force during colonial days. 9 In the eye of the law every member of the police force irrespective of his rank is first and foremost a â€Å"police officer. †10 He exercise basic powers and performs basic duties. 1 These powers and duties flow from the status a police officer has under the constitution and not because of his rank12 in the force. Though ranks have to be created in order to make the _________________________________________________ 6. Section 4 Po lice Act Cap 359 LFN 1990 7. Tinubu K. O. The Police and Administration of justice in Nigeria, in proceedings of the conference of National Association of Law Teacher Unilag 24-25 March 1972. 8. Ibid p. 113 9. See generally Tamuno. T. N. Dr. The Police in modern Nigeria 1970 10. See Police Act Section 2, Criminal Produce Act Cap 80.Section 2, Interpretation Act Cap 192 Section 18(1) LFN 1990. 11. Section 4 Police Act. 12. See Regulation 273 of the Nigeria Police Regulation Cap 359 LFN 1990 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1126645 4. force a disciplined and functional institution, the status which is police officer enjoys under the law takes primary position because it is the basis of the performance of police work. In the words of George amadi13 â€Å"This status is not generated by the fact that a police officer is a public servant but by reason of the originality of his authority (powers) which enables him to carry out his work.Unlike other public servantâ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The authority of a police officer is original, flowing directly from the constitution†. The reason for this elevated privileged position of the police is rooted in man’s psychological make up. In traditional criminal justice system everyone acted as a policeman not because of any employment to that position but by the fact that policing was an activity which every citizen had a civil obligation to perform for the sake of peace and tranquility in the community. 4 This traditional reasoning has been carried on into the modern day as it is recognized that policing is a community and joint responsibilities of all citizens in the state. It is division of labour, amongst other thing that necessitated the formation of organized police force whose members were charged with the responsibilities of monitoring law and order on behalf of the people. 15 From the foregoing analysis, it follows that the police is a friend of the society and for it to be able to carry out its functions effectively members of the society must be ready and willing to lend support to its efforts.Thus, the duty of crime detection and prevention cannot be effectively carried out by the police except with persistent collaboration of the community at large. CRIME PREVENTION AND DETECTION The two concepts of crime prevention and detection, though so close and interwoven as to be taken as synonyms, one for the other, the two concepts are not the same. It is true that you can prevent the commission of a crime if you detect its anticipatory steps early enough before commission of the crime. However prevention as used under the Police Act refers to situation ___________________________________________________ 13. Amadi G. O. S. Police Power in Nigeria Afro-Orbis Publication Ltd 2000 page 11 14. Tamuno T. N. The police in modern Nigeria 1861-1965 15. Amadi G. O. S. op. cil p. 11 5. where crime are discovered and thus prevented before commission16. On the other hand crime detecti on refers to the investigatory power of the police to discover the commission of crime at any point in time and to be able to identify the personae criminis involved in the commission of the crime.It should be noted however that the two concepts mingles together and operate together in order to their the statutory good envisaged in section 4 of the Police Act. This conclusion is in escapable for you can only prevent a crime if you know of its existence and anticipate it; and you know of the existence of a crime, without being a party to it, if you detect it. Thus prevention of a crime can and is usually preceded by detection of acts to commit a crime.The general duties of the police are listed in Section 4 of the Police Act thus (i) the prevention and detection of crime (ii) the apprehension of offenders (iii) the preservation of law and order (iv) the protection of property (v) the due enforcement of all laws and regulation with which they are directly charged. Apart from these gen eral duties for maintenance of law and order, there are other adjunct duties under the Act and other laws and regulations operating in the country. By section 23 of the Police Act the olice are empowered to conduct prosecution of crimes, though subject to the power of the Attorney General of the State or Federation ad the case may be. Other provision enlarging or elaborating on the general powers of the police include, power of arrest without warrant in given situations, power to arrest without having warrant in possession, power to serve summons, general powers to search and detain suspects and power to take and record for purposes of identification and measurements, photographs and finger prints impression of all persons in lawful custody. 7 ___________________________________ 16. A ready example was the arrest in England of suspected Terrorists who had planned to blow up planes flying from UK to US. 17. See generally the Police Act. 6. The police are also empowered under the Crim inal Procedure Act/Code to arrest without warrant, 18 to arrest to prevent the commission of crimes19 and to interpose to prevent offences. 20 There are police powers of arrest, search etc under other Acts and various legislations for example the Firearm Act and Regulations, Children and Young Peoples Act etc.LEGAL FRAMEWORK The duties of the police in their overall enforcement of the law and maintenance of order are achieved through various ways, ranging from crime prevention methods, investigative and detective activities, prosecution, traffic control and regulations, to public or community service. Our enquiry is focused on the crime prevention strategies that may be employed by the police. In the words of the elders â€Å"prevention is better than cure. † This old saying is as poignant today as it was in the olden days of our forefathers.However the task of crime prevention is an hazardous and tedious exercise. Not only must the police officers be intelligent, brave and a ssiduous at duty, the organization must provide the wherewithal with which the police officer must do the task. In carrying out the crime prevention task, the police could avail itself of any or all of the following mechanisms. (a) BEAT PATROLS A beat is the area which a particular constable or group of constables is detailed to patrol during a single tour of duty. It may be a precinct in a city or town mbarassing as small as a couple of streets, roads, or as large as a kilometer radius, depending on the density of the population, the known rate of crimes, the economic or administrative importance of the establishment or building in the area. In the rural areas, it may be a collection of villages or hamlets or a stretch _____________________________________________________ 18. 19. 20. Sections 10 11 CPA, Sections 26, 27 41 CPC. Section 55 CPA Section 90 CPC. Section 53 CPA Section 112 CPC. 7. of kilometers of our national borders.Depending on the size, nature and extent of the b eat to be covered the concerned police officer may go on foot, bicycles, horse backs, or vehicles, and where necessary with the assistance of police trained dogs. The primary object of the beat patrol system is to disperse policemen in a way that will possibly eliminate or reduce the opportunity for misconduct and to increase the likelihood that an offender will be apprehended while he is committing an offence or immediately thereafter. The strong likelihood of immediate apprehension, no doubt, has a strong deterrent effect on potential offenders. 1 The beat system offers a close circuit monitoring system of the entire area covered by the concerned police officer and provides a good, reliable and first hand information and data on the criminal activities in the area. Where this practice is pursued vigorously, crime rate is bound to reduce drastically as potential crimes are detected early and prevented before maturing into full-blown offence. The system affords the police officer co ncerned, who is well atuned to his beats, to be able to spot quickly and easily any new-face in the area.It also engenders close affinity, respect and trust between the police institution/officer and members of the community within the beat precinct giving members of the community a sense of participation in crime prevention. This goes a long way at assisting the police at nipping commission of crime in the bud. The beat system also acts as a gag on potential offenders as the fear of being apprehended or discovered before the commission of the crime may deter him from further prosecution of the offence.Another advantage of this system is that it breads efficient police organization as each officer is given specific beat duty and as such, individual performance of the concerned officer can be easily and efficiently ascertained and measured with corresponding rewards and reproach. On the long run the beat system becomes the cheapest crime prevention and management option as __________ ____________________________________ 21. Tinubu K. O. op. cit. 8. most crime would have been nipped in the bud and the attendant cost of prosecution, and incarceration would be avoided.A corollary of the beat system was the moribound policy of posting DPO to their locality. The policy as constituted was laudable but it was killed by the hydra headed â€Å"Nigerian factor† in our body polity. The policy would have gone a long way at assisting the police in their crime prevention duties and stem the tide of official corruption in the institution. A police officer working within his locality is more likely to know the dark spots in the area and probably the criminals and potential criminals in his neighbourhood.As a â€Å"local† he will be circumspect at collecting bribes from members of the community as victims can easily trace his roots in the community and thus become stigmatized. In as much as this system is cheap on the long run and desirable in its import, it will n ot work well in an environment of distrust, ethnic bias, nepotism and corruption. The system will also fail except and unless there is adequate logistic and institutional support both from the government and the private sector in the state.Since the system rests strongly on prompt, efficient and effective communication network, it may fail where there is no support system like good roads reliable communication system and efficient energy backup. Also, the initial capital outlay for the implementation of the system nationally may be outlandish. Inspite of this however, you will also agree with me that crime detection and prevention task has improved since the introduction of GSM phones in the country. (B) ANTI VICE SQUADSThis is a surveillance squad operating in disguise and carrying out intelligent surveillance of areas that one potentially breeding grounds for various vices such as gambling, prostitution, rioting etc. They operate at large gatherings, public places, and motor parks etc where theft and affray have been found to be rampant. The objective of the squad is to gather information and 9. provide proactive measures to prevent the commission of crime and where that fails, to at least immediately apprehend the criminals at the point of commission of the offence.This measure has been used at various times, with varying degrees of success, by the police authorities to carry out raids on these breeding places of crime. Such raids have led atimes to arrest and prosecution of drug users and peddlers, arms dealers and robbers etc. Through the system is good as a measure of crime prevention, its use over a long period of time is doubted. Not only is it expensive to run on a long time basis but it also imparts negatively on the public image posture of the police; for it implies a fire brigade approach to crime prevention and management.The system can also be easily abused by overzealous police officer. (C) STOP DETAIN AND SEARCH By virtue of the powers conferre d by the provision of section 25 of the police Act, a police officer on beat is expected to be vigilant and on his suspicion being aroused, entitled to stop, detain and search any person whom he reasonably suspects of having in his possession or conveying in, any manner anything he has reason to believe has been stolen or unlawfully obtained or with reference to which an offence has been committed. 2 In the words of Tinubu23 this mechanism, when sedulously employed in a police jurisdiction, yields tremendous results for detecting offences, as much as preventing them. (D) SPECIE ESCORTS Armed policemen guarding large sum of money, valuables or explosives in transit. This is a service rendered free of charge to governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, but on payment of fees, to private organizations and individuals. __________________________________________________ 23.See also Section 10 (1)d Criminal Procedure Act. 23. K. O. Tinubu op. cit at 122. 10. (E) STATIC GUARDS This was a time honoured important anti crime prevention model adopted in advance world and partially in Nigeria during the colonial era and the first republic. Through this model police guards are provided at public institutions and places to check ingress and exist of customers and clients etc and prevent crimes is relation to such establishments.It is true that this crime prevention method has been overshadowed with the developments of close circuit monitors, it is still however been used with respect to public institutions and installations. The recent experience of guarding NNPC installations by arms guards readily comes to mind. (F) NATIONAL (INTERNAL) SECURITY The police in collaboration with the relevant state security agencies also provide surveillance network on the activities of persons considered security risks in order to prevent sabotage and subversion of the nation and its established institutions.REGULATING ASSEMBLIES, PROCESSIONS ETC The police are empowered to prevent like ly breach of the peace and contain any tendency towards in citing and provocative acts etc by persons initially gathered for a lawful purpose, or such acts by others towards a lawful gathering and or possession. Though there is no definition of the phrase â€Å"breach of the peace† in our criminal legislation, yet the phrase form a constituent part of several offences. 24 It is provided, for instance that it is on offence when three or more persons, with intent to arry out some common purpose, assemble in such a manner or being assembled, conduct themselves in such a manner as to cause persons in the neighbourhood to fear on reasonable grounds that the persons so assembled will ___________________________________________________ 24. See Sections 69,71, 80-83 of the Criminal Code. 11. tumultuously disturb the peace or will be such assembly needlessly and without any reasonable occasion provoke other persons tumultuously to disturb the peace. 5 This type of offence which genera tes a breach of peace called unlawful assembly and is punishable as a nisolemeanour. 26 Where the persons unlawfully assembled legion to act riotously in a manner as to disturb the peace27 it is treated as a felony. 28 In this aspect of preventive justice two important issues always confront the police in the exercise of their preventive powers. The first is in respect of the type of behaviour which qualities as a phenomenon that causes or likely to cause a breach of the peace.And the second is whether a breach of the peace or a conduct likely to generate it can occur in a public as well as in a private place. 29 With respect to the first issue the judicial and academic approach is that the behaviour in question is not confined to criminal acts or conducts but could also includes such other wrongful acts. 30 On the second issue the consensus of opinion, findinal and statutory authorities is that such conduct that causes or likely to cause the breach of the peace is not confined to p ublic places31 alone as such acts could also occur or be carried out in private places. 2 In the words of Amadi: â€Å"Offences dealt with under Chapter 10 of the Criminal Code are these in relation to breaches of the peace. There is nothing throughout the chapter which suggests that a breach of the peace is either a purely public or private phenomenon. †33 Where the police are alive and proactive about their duties to the citizens and the state they can effectively and efficiently use this powers to pre vent the commission of crimes and or ring it is the bud. ________________________________________________ 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.Ibid Section 69. Ibid Section 70. Ibid Section 69. Ibid Section 71. See generally Amadi G. O. S. op. cit. 96 for a lucid discussion on this preventive powers of the police. See also Tinubu K. O op. cit. See Cop v. Agi 1986 1 NCR 234, Timothy v. Simpson 149 ER 1285) See Section 83 Criminal Code, Shokeye II IGP (1962) 2 ALL NLR 119. See Se ction 86(2) Criminal Code. Amadi G. O. S. op. cit 111. 12. THE SUPERVISEE SYSTEM34 This system enables the police to keep on eye on the movement and activities of criminals who, on conviction, are sentenced to police supervision.The term of the order of supervision couple the supervisee to report to the police in his area of residence once a month (when he may be questioned as to his activities etc during the past month), from one police jurisdiction to another and other such change to continue to report monthly to the police of his new residence. Whilst in a particular area, he may not change his address without prior intimation of the police in his area. This police powers which is hardly put to use could serve as a veritable mechanism for crime prevention and detection. The police is afforded the opportunity of onitoring the activities and movements of known and habitual offender in order to prescripts and anticipate their next or potential crime monoveroures. POLICE PREVENTIVE P OWERS UNDER CPA CPC By for these are the most portent powers conferred on the police to prevent the commission of imminent crimes and curb the activities of persons who are dangerous to the public. This powers include, recognizance to keep the peace,35 security for behavour of suspected persons,36 security for good habitual criminals or offenders,37 power to interpose to prevent offence and injury to public property,38 power to arrest to prevent offences. 9 Under Sections 35, 36 and 37 of the Criminal Procedure Act the police using the machinery of the criminal justice system are empowered to cause a magistrate to issue an order of recognizance on a person to keep the peace or give under taking for good behaviour for such a period usually not exceeding one year. This order to show cause, usually given with or without ________________________________________________________ 35. See generally Section 3 Prevention of Crimes Act; Sections 19-24 Prevention of crimes Regulations. 34.Sect ion 35 CPA, Sections 87 88 CPC. 35. Section 36 CPA. 36. Section 37 CPA, Section 89 CPC. 37. Section 53(1) CPA, Section 112 CPC. 38. Section 55 CPA, Section 90 CPC. 39. Section 4 Criminal Code. 13. sureties serves the purpose of putting in check the activities of persons likely to commit offences and thereby prevent or at least slow down the incidents of crime. Section 53 of the CPA provides that, â€Å"every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall to the best of his ability, prevent, the commission of a crime. This section contains two provisions. Firstly the police officer has a duty to interpose between the would be offender and the potential victim and thus prevent the commission of the Criminal conduct. Through the commission of the offence is prevented the would be offender may still be charged with the commission of the offence of attempt to commit an offence. 40 Secondly the officer must use his best ability when interposing, to prevent the com mission of the offence. Interposition not based on the best of his ability to prevent crime is worthless.It is important to point out that this provision helps to check the citizen from taking the law into his own hands by trying to reiterate and thereby committing another offence. By virtue of Section 55 of the CPA, â€Å"a police officer knowing of a design to commit any offence may arrest, without orders from a magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot otherwise be prevented. 41 This power is exercisable irrespective of the rovisions of the CPA or any other law in relation to arrest. It is evident form this section that the preventive action of the police must first be carried out without actually arresting the person designing to commit an offence. 42 It is therefore when it becomes obvious to the police that the criminal intention is about to manifest into a criminal act that an arrest mus t take place. __________________________________________________ 40. 41. 42. See also Section 281 Criminal Code, Section 90 Criminal Procedure Code. R v.Okoye (1950) 19 NLR 103. Section 218 Criminal Code. 14. Finally in giving the police the authority to take preventive measures, the law allows them to use such reasonable force as may be necessary for the prevention of crimes. 43 COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRIME PREVENTION Public hostility and indifference are the most perplexing problems the police force today. The Nigerian publics have come to demand so high an expectation from the police. The top hierarchy of the Nigerian Police Force do not begrudge them for doing so.No one is more sensitive to the great and urgent need for more efficient and effective law enforcement than the top brass of the forece. 44 They not only appreciate but also concede that without the full and in compromising support of the public, their efforts cannot fructify. The problem however is that the publi c do not advert their minds to the limitations placed on police capabilities by various factors not of their own making. The individual citizen fails to appreciate that he is equally responsible for law enforcement and that he has powers and obligations under the law to accomplish this task.If he was an eyewitness of a crime, he would rather decide to look the other way than perform what one may regard his civic, if not legal, duty to come forward to give the police necessary information in his possession. Amongst the many criticisms that have been leveled against the police and quoted as responsible for the not too inspiring police/public relations are the followings: (i) The police are too corrupt (ii) (iii) (iv) The police are high handed and prove to excesses; they even harass complements. The police delay members of the public unnecessarily at police stations, even where they are complements or witnesses.The police are inefficient. _____________________________________ 43. 44. Tinubu K. O. op. cit 162. Ibid at 164. 15. It is futile to deny any of these charges. 45 However irrespective of these shortcomings of the police, individuals and communities within the society owes the singular responsibilities, amongst others, to himself/themselves and to the state to be conscious of their self preservative rights. This right is best exemplified when you try to anticipate and prevent yourself from being harmed by action of others.By so doing you are carry out the civil and legal duty of crime prevention in the society. 46 This task of crime prevention is not achieved through retaliatory actions or pre-emptive violence but by promptly reporting such incident or fact to the laws enforcement agency in your neighbourhood. According to one Yoruba adage â€Å"Ajeji Owo kan ko gberu olori†, literally meaning â€Å"One single hand cannot achieve the task of putting the load on the head. In essence all hands must be on deck to achieve the task and we all have a res ponsibility and a role to play in the crime prevention task.Outside the self preservation duty of members of the community to prevent the commission of crime by reporting some to the police, the law imposes a duty on members of the community to assist the police in their crime prevention function. 47 By virtue of the provision of section 34(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 48 â€Å"Every person is bound to assist a †¦. Police officer reasonably demanding his aid in the preventive or suppression of a breach of the peace†. It is on offence to omit, without reasonable excuse, to assist a police officer in preserving the peace. 9 Although the statute does not define what amounts to a â€Å"reasonable excuse† the interpretation at common law as espoused in R v. Brown assistance to our courts. ________________________________________________________ 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. See generally: Tamuno, T. N. op. cit particularly chapter 3. Section 24 (1) Police Act. Cap. â₠¬ ¦.. LFN 1990. Sections 201 and 200 of the Criminal Code. 174 ER 522. Section 40 Police Act. 50 may be of persuasive 16. According to the court in the case it is only a physical impossibility or other lawful excuse that can justify the defendant’s refusal to help the police.It is not lawful to say that one’s aid to a police officer, if given, would not have proved sufficient or useful. Members of the community are also a expected to assist a police officer in the course of his duty. The law provides that if any person is called upon to aid and assist a police officer, who is, while in the execution of his duty, assaulted or resisted, or in danger of being assaulted or resisted and such person refuses or neglects to aid and assist accordingly, he shall be guilty of an offence and†¦.. hall be liable to a penalty of fifty Naira or 6 months imprisonment†. 51 The fulcrum of the foregoing section is not in the penalty clause but in the fact that members of the pu blic are expected to offer assistance to the police officer in the course of his duty of crime prevention or apprehension particularly when such police officer requires such assistance in time of need to prevent or apprehend the commission of a crime.The high points of the discussion under this head is that not only one members of the public/community communally bound to prevent the commission of crime, but that they are also statutorily required, at the pain of being punished, to assist and work with the police in the task of crime prevention. This relationship between the police and the community can be effectively carried dout where members of the community provides prompt, necessary and adequate information that may assist the police in their work.It is in the light of the above that one may commend the setting up of vigilante groups in the communities to fight the scourge of crime and assist the police in their crime prevention initiatives. _____________________________________ ______________ 51. 17. CONCLUSION The importance of law and order in the society cannot be over