ABSTRACT
Over the years, governments at different level have made spirited efforts at curbing urban crime and violence through established institutions. Unfortunately, the war against urban crime and violence has been largely unsuccessful. This study is an attempt to assess the institutional framework for managing urban security in Gusau using the urban governance indicators with a view to make proposals for improvement. The data used for the study were obtained from a semi-structured questionnaire, participant observation and document review. Two types of surveys were conducted for the study; an institutional survey of the agencies responsible for urban security in Gusau, and a household survey to assess the activities of the security agencies from the view point of public respondents. The study also prepared security profile of Gusau town, this served as the basis for understanding the security situation in the study area. Since a profile is a description of what is? The method of investigation relied on published and unpublished materials and sundry informal investigation from various stakeholders that affect and are affected by the insecurity problem. The study revealed that there are various agencies responsible for managing urban security in the study area and the key players are federal agencies with no single agency responsible for coordinating their activities which some time leads to conflict, duplication and overlaps. The frequency of meetings among these agencies is monthly and on emergency situations which signifies low cooperation and collaboration. The study also revealed that the existing institutional framework does not include all the relevant stakeholders which make it ineffective. To improve on the existing institutional framework, the study outlined some policy recommendations and proposed institutional framework under the existing Local Government Council. This is with a view that crime and violent activities mostly take place in the local community, therefore such local solutions are most likely to solve local problems.