The Political Economy of Prison Based Security Threats and their Effects on Public Safety; The Case of Kenya Prison System

Abstract

This study sought to grapple with "The Political Economy of Prison Based Security Threats and their Effect on Public Safety in Kenya." It responds to three critical questions; What is the nature and form of emerging prison based security threats? What factors undergird the current prison based security threats? And what institutional policies and frameworks are critical for enhancing prison role in societal protection and public safety? The study is underpinned by three objectives which sought to examine and analyze the nature and form of emerging prison based security threats, the factors that undergird these threats and the apparent inability by the institutional policy frameworks to contain the threat. The study contends that the prevailing prison based security threats are as a result of emerging trends in crime bolstered by technological advancement, globalization factors together with the convergence of differentiated specialized criminal elements and the weak and outdated policy frameworks. In response to this, we recommend that the prisons department juxtaposes its policy frameworks with the emerging crime trends in tandem with the demands of modern day technological advancement. This can be achieved by adopting a paradigmatic shift in the modus operandi in the management of prisons. This will entail a radical approach to the training and forming of the prison officer equipping him skills, values and attitudes of a correctional officer. Core here is that the administration and exercise of justice which includes imprisonment should serve the purpose of a safe and secure society.