INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10, OCTOBER 2014 ISSN 2277-8616
267
IJSTR©2014
www.ijstr.org
Secured Web-Based Criminal Diary
Olaniyan A.B, Olaleye O.J, Oyedeji, M. N, Aina O.A
Abstract: With persistence increase and complexity in the rate of crime activities in developing countries like Nigeria where criminal act has become the
order of the day, it is an understatement if consideration is not given to criminal records keeping, for such is a necessity for law agencies and the general
public in a bid to minimize atrocities such as criminal offence denial, record manipulation and criminal record insecurity to mention few. Nigeria among
developing countries is known to manage criminal records manually which is prone to criminal’s record misplacement, removal, replacement and
sometimes change in the content of criminal record. In other to improve on this conventional approach of keeping record as well as minimize the level of
atrocities observed, a secured criminal record keeping is necessary. In this study, a web-based criminal diary with security features that prevents all
forms of data manipulation, irregularities and theft was developed.
Index Terms: Crime, Record keeping, Criminal Act, Diary, Web, Security, Developing Countries, Law Agencies, General Public
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1 INTRODUCTION
Acrime also called an offence or a criminal offence is an act
harmful not only to some individuals but also to the community
or the state [1]. It is also an act or the omission of an act that is
hidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a
public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by
that law (Merriam n.d). A criminal is a law breaker, convict,
offender, villain, culprit, sinner, felon [2]. A criminal is convicted
when found guilty by the laws of the country. In Nigeria, a
criminal is convicted when is found guilty under the
constitution which is the supreme law of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria. A diary is a record with discreet entries arranged by
date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day
or other period, it is originally in handwritten format [3]. A
criminal diary is a pad or manual arranged in a calendar order
whereby records of a person that has committed or has been
legally convicted of a crime in a country, while a web- based
criminal diary is an online based record of people that has
committed or has been convicted of a crime arranged in a
calendar order.
1.1 Crime and The Society
As far back as existence of man, criminality has become part
and parcel of human nature and society. That is 'why no
society can claim to be completely free of crimes. But the
types of criminal behaviour tend to follow the pattern of social
and economic development of a given society. It is therefore
not unexpected that a society at a low level of development
tends to experience an upsurge in the rate of violent crimes
such as armed robbery, politically motivated killings, the use of
illegal weapons, ethnic and religious clashes and the like. It is
however worrisome, that the security personnel, members of
public, lawmakers as well public figures etc. which are meant
to be the antidote to criminality appear to be found and fully
involved in the act.
1.2 Nigeria and Crime
There is clear evidence that since the mid-seventies, Nigeria
has been experiencing what is referred to in criminological
literature as a ―crime-problem‖ i.e. when crime, in terms of
incidence and seriousness, passes from the normal or
tolerable level to the pathological and becomes a ―social
problem‖. In other words, crime has become not only
ubiquitous but has reached a Frankenstein dimension. In
actual fact, the incidence and sensational press reporting of
assassination, armed robberies and big-time fraud only serve
to undermine the required appreciation of the enormity of the
burden on the average citizen in terms of so called ―common‖
thefts, burglaries, assaults, by the working and under classes,
and petty frauds by artisans and middle-cadre workers. Below
is a table showing types of crime, the victims and the level of
public concern.
TABLE 1: TABLE SHOWING TYPES OF CRIME, THE VICTIMS AND
PUBLIC CONCERN
S
/
N
Types of
crime/criminal
victimization
The Direct
Victims
The Degree of
Public
concern
1
.
This include
common
crimes which
includes
Burglary,
Stealing/Theft,
Assault/harras
ement,
impersonation,
street fighting,
Pick-pocketing,
Raping etc.
This involves
mostly working
class Nigerians
Low (Feeling of
helplessness)
2
.
Violent Crime
such as
Assasination,
Abduction and
Armed
Robbery
This involves
mostly Middle-
class Nigerians
but often the
power elite
High
(sensationalisa
tion and feeling
of insecurity)
3
.
Elite crimes
such as 419,
corruption,
money
laundering etc.
The Economy
(and the
morale and
morality of the
polity )
Low(Feeling of
powerlessness
)
From the table, we can clearly deduce that crime has become
part of our social life in Nigeria. Furthermore the method
__________________________________
Olaniyan A.B is a lecturer at Gateway Polytechnic
Saapade, Nigeria and currently pursuing his masters
degree program in Computer Science in Ladoke
Akintola University of Technology,Ogbomoso, Nigeria
,PH- +2348163322951.
mailto:ezbkayo4live@yahoo.com
Olaleye O.J is a lecturer at Allover Central
Polytechnic, Ota, Nigeria and also currently pursuing
his masters degree program in Computer Science in
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,Ogbomoso,
Nigeria E-mail: oludarejohnson@yahoo.com