The police perform all the following functions except ________

Analyze the question: We need the one option that is NOT a function of the police. This is an "except" question, so three options are real police duties and one is not.

Concept: The police are the law enforcement agency. In Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force's main functions include:

• Protecting life and property
• Maintaining law and order
• Preventing and detecting crime
• Arresting suspects and investigating crimes
• Prosecuting offenders in some courts (police prosecutors handle cases in magistrate and district courts)
• Escorting and guarding, and controlling crowds and traffic

Sentencing and punishing offenders belongs to the judiciary (courts). The carrying out of sentences, such as imprisonment, belongs to the prison/correctional service (and, where the law allows, to other authorised officials). The police do not carry out executions themselves.

Option by option:

• A. Public execution of law breakers: The police do not do this. Punishment follows a court judgment and is carried out by authorised officials, not by the police on their own. Also, "public execution" is not a recognised police function. This is the exception.
• B. Prosecuting law breakers: Police prosecutors do this in lower courts, so it is a police function.
• C. Protection of life and property: This is a core police duty.
• D. Enforcement of law and order: This is also a core police duty.

Answer: The only option that is not a police function is A.

Exam tip: Remember the separation of roles: Police arrest and investigate, courts judge, prisons punish. If an option has the police imposing or carrying out punishment, it is usually the "except" answer. Also read "except" questions carefully, because you are looking for the false statement.