A Comparative Analysis of Police Powers and Control Under Nigeria and South Africa Constitutions' and the Way Forward

One of the strongest organs that are encircled with the role of securing lives and property is the police force. As a law enforcement agency, police has succeeded in ensuring that rule of law and fundamental rights of people in the society are not tampered with. These they do by ensuring that any person who infringes on the rights of another would be arrested and be brought to book. As an organization, in-charge of security of lives and properties, it is faced with enormous challenges when sourcing out information or investigation from the society with respect to a crime committed by any member of the society. This work took a doctrinal methodology of research approach. Also, the work aimed to evaluate the control of Nigeria and South Africa Police Forces under the two respective Constitutions. This work recommended that the first thing to be noted was the need for more professional labor force in the Nigeria Police. This is because the institutions of the Police has proliferated into a more advanced one in dealing with civic policing, e-policing, forensic science, auditing and other specialties. Also, there is a need for greater manpower with expertise oriented experience who will man the offices as the current employment ratio of Nigeria Police Force should be increased. The work was concluded with the assertion that the welfare of the officers of Nigeria Police and that of South Africa Police should be increased to attract members of the public more especially our teeming youths to join the institution