Police - public relations in Kenya:A philosophical analysis of apathy

Abstract

One of the problems which hinder efficient functioning of the police force in Kenya today is its poor relationship with the public. The public seems to be expressing apathy towards the police. This study is set to investigate the genesis of public apathy towards the police, and its persistence with a view to proposing the possible solutions to the problems. This is necessary because, without the proper understanding of the causes of apathy, it will be hard for the public to understand the operations of police as well as visualizing their duties as those which are set for their own benefit. On the other hand, one's the police properly comprehend the root causes of public apathy towards it, it will then be better placed to adjust itself in order to eliminate or reduce the apathy. To conduct the investigation, two hypotheses were proposed. These were:' First, that public apathy towards the police force in Kenya is a consequence of the colonial system of administration and second, that public apathy negatively affects the law enforcement. To test these hypotheses, data was collected usmg mainly library research in which relevant literature on apathy was gathered. Informal interviews were also conducted to buttress the secondary data. Vll The data obtained from the library were subjected to philosophical analysis where the knowledge obtained from logic, epistemology and metaphysics were applied. The results obtained from the analysis affirmed the hypotheses.