EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS IN REHABILITATING OFFENDERS BEHAVIOUR IN KERICHO COUNTY, KENYA
Collins Kipchirchir Ngetich - Master of Arts Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Egerton University, Kenya
Hadija Murenga (PhD) - Lecturer, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton University, Kenya
Wafula Kisaka - Lecturer, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Community Service Order (CSO) is one of the sentences being utilized by courts in Kenya to rehabilitate petty offenders. The introduction of CSO in Kenya was meant to be an alternative to imprisonment for petty offenders. It was envisaged that these offenders would be effectively rehabilitated in the community while at the same time serving their sentence. There is however little empirical data on the effectiveness of CSO in Kericho county. It is this knowledge gap that this study sought to fill. This study examined the effectiveness of Community service Orders in rehabilitating offenders behaviour in Kericho County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were; to determine the role of CSO in reducing recidivism among offenders in Kericho County, to assess the perceptions of offenders towards the CSO programme and its influence on their behaviour change in Kericho County. The study was informed by the system theory. Descriptive survey research design was adopted by the researcher. A target population of 376 offenders was used. The unit of analysis consisted of offenders currently serving a sentence of more than 3 months and ex-offenders who had served a sentence of more than 3 months. Simple random sampling was used in selecting current offenders, whereas snowballing sampling was used to identify ex-offenders. Purposive sampling was employed to select key informants. Primary data was obtained from respondents by use of interview schedules and key informant guide. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis and presented in the form of tables, pie charts graphs and percentages. The study established that CSO played big role in reducing recidivism among offenders. This was achieved through the various rehabilitation interventions the offenders underwent through. It was also established that most offenders had positive perception towards CSO and towards their supervisors. This it was noted to have a positive influence on their behaviour change. This study recommends the department should scale up skills acquisition interventions for offenders. In addition, it should explore mechanisms of economically empowering offenders or linking them to potential employers as most of the offenders were persons with low-socio economic status. Offender management training for supervising officers should be conducted regularly to enhance their supervision skills. Supervision greatly influenced the perception of offenders towards CSO programme.
