Investigating citizens’ participation through information communication technology in community policing in Muloza, Malawi

Abstract

ICTs have been used to facilitate already programmed policing activities since 1996. Digital monitoring and surveillance has defied geographical and cultural boundaries, gaining sharing of information, intelligence gathering, reporting crimes, citizens-police collaboration and reduction of crimes. Malawi has gained wide pervasive use of social media via mobile devices in both rural and urban areas. This study aims to analyse the role of ICT in community policing and citizen participation at Muloza Border in Mulanje. The study adopts exploratory sequential mixed methods design and the pragmatics paradigm with total population sample of 550 respondents. The study has 10 Focus group discussions and 18 key informant interviews purposely selected outside the quantitative 432 randomly selected respondents within conveniently selected 10 locations in Muloza. Qualitative used focus group discussion guide while survey implored structured questionnaire instruments. Quantitative analysis used SPSS version 20 to come up with descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and ANOVA test were utilised in SPSS version 20. Qualitative utilised thematic analysis. Guided by Participatory Democracy Theory, Social Disorganisation Theory, and Frame Theory of Communication, the study findings show that mobile phones are dominantly used supported by phone call, SMS and WhatsApp applications. WhatsApp is gaining influence because of multimedia capacity of sending photos, videos, voice notes et cetera. ICTs enabled citizens to communicate and deposit evidence. Citizens are responsible for neighbourhood security and ICTs have integrated them into formal, informal and non-formal policing structures, promoting wide participation that improved accountability and transparency in handling policing. Through ICTs, citizens acted by (a) sharing information about suspicions (b) alerting neighbors of crime and emergencies (c) organising themselves virtually. Technology usage was affected by (i) age (p=0.001), (ii) education (p=0.000), (iii) income (p=0.000), (iv) knowledge/expertise (p=0.000), (v) the cost of accessing technologies (p=0.009), and (vi) trust issues between the police and the public (p=0.009). Use of ICTs has positive effects and the digital platform of community policing will (a) improve communication between police and community, (b) identify a wider variety of insecurities (transparency), (c) promote effective use of limited resources (d) move beyond customary bureaucratic procedures. The current study contributes that technology enhances formal, informal and non-formal integration improving weaknesses of participatory democracy and social disorganization theories gaining social cohesion, collective efficacy and community guardianship promoting wide participation, sparking investigations into rights abuses and helping to reduce corruption. Technology enhances, empowers, and transforms citizens’ integration, widening socialisation and interactions gaining social cohesion, collective efficacy, and community guardianship, all of which play crucial roles in preventing crime and arresting suspects. The study recommends more civic education campaigns to practitioners for sustainable adoption and deliberate policy intervention on subsidised ICTs for internal security by concerned governments.