EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY POLICING ON CRIME PREVENTION IN KAKAMEGA COUNTY, KENYA
Karuri Joseph Gitoru - Master of Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Wilson Muna (PhD) - Department of Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The Community’s role in quest for crime prevention constructs confidence between citizens and the police by bringing on board both the civil society, the law enforcement officers, and native people to advance home grown security measures for safe keeping and safety apprehensions thus inhibiting crime rate. The rise of complex criminal activities in the world and Kenya today makes it difficult for communities to carry on with their work confidently. There are myriad of challenges on matters of security and wellbeing, prompting many governments to partner with the public to provide for policing services as it is enshrined in the Kenyan National police act as well as coming up with various mitigation strategies to cub the high rate of crime with community policing being one of the strategies. The crime rate has affected the operation of the community thus need to address the issue. Previous studies have mostly looked at community policing by focusing on the safety factor and omitting the prevention part of it especially in the cosmopolitan towns. The research, therefore pursued to explore the issue of community policing on crime prevention in Kakamega County. The research was directed by the following objectives; assessed the effects community policing techniques on crime prevention in Kakamega County, found out the effects of community participation on crime prevention in Kakamega County, Kenya, thirdly it sought to ascertain effects of knowledge among community members on crime prevention strategies in Kakamega County, Kenya. The target population included 321 Community opinion leaders, 41 NPS Members; OCPD, OCS, Deputy OCS, 14 Provincial administrators; chiefs, assistant chiefs, and 36 leaders of nyumba Kumi initiative. The research used purposeful sampling to get the required sample of 110 from the target population of 321: The study espoused social disorganization theory on the theoretical review. Baseline data was gathered by use of both questionnaire and interviews while secondary data included data from previous studies. The study was carried out within Kakamega town Kakamega County, Kenya. The data was analyzed using SPSS model and presented through, pie charts, graphs and tables. The study sought to generate baseline data which can later be used to evaluate the accomplishment of how community’s involvement can help in preventing and mitigating crime rates within Kakamenga County, Kenya and the world at large. The research study established that the community policing committee did not fully communicate policing techniques to the players in crime prevention effort. This could be the reason why the crime rate is still high in Kakamega town despite the presence of community policing forums. The study also found out that majority of the respondents felt that community policing techniques were not effectively employed in combating crime. The study recommends that there should be capacity building of the community policing stakeholders in order to match skills with the dynamics of crimes in this contemporary days.
