The Contemporary Management of Security: A Case Study Community Policing in Kenya from 2003-2006

Abstract

This study attempts to examine the concept of community policing and whether its adoption as strategy of crime prevention really reduces crime or the fear of crime in view of the failure of the traditional approach in crime control. This study therefore attempts to examine the process of the implementation of the community policing in Kenya its role in reducing crime or the fear of crime. Community policing was officially launched in Kenya on 27lh April 2005 as a as an alternative policing strategy in the fight against crime that relies collaboration between the police and community. A set of internal benchmarks and both qualitative and quantitative indicators to monitor the impact of implementation of community policing has been setup and comprise a: checklist of activities to measure progress, responsiveness and visibility or resistance by police or community, and statistics of implementation in terms of crime reduction. The assessment of the role of the policing policy will be carried out by using primary and secondary sources of data. Primary sources will include interviews with Kenyan Policy makers including the practitioners in the police force, provincial administration, and managers of the private security and some members of the civil society as well as the academia. Secondary date will be obtained from Kenya Government publications, books, journals, magazines, print media, the internet and unpublished papers from workshops and seminars. What emerged out of this study is that the community policing improves good relationship between police and community and this may create an impression of reducing crime and fear of crime. However other strategies like appropriate patrol deployment and fast response time to scene of crime are also contributes to reduction of high incidents of crime and fear of crime.