Community Policing and Vigilantism in Kisii: Towards Non-violent and Inclusive Non-State Policing

Abstract

The paper studies the changing nature of local policing and argues that there has been a shift from vigilantism, where the vigilante has been the dominant non-state actor, to community policing in Taraacha location situated in Kisii County. The changes are characterized by a move towards non-violent forms of policing. Notwithstanding a number of changes, the transition is not seamless as the discourses on inclusion are nuanced by asymmetries in administration and community cooperation, inadequate support for community policing and existing cultural constructs on governance. The state’s continued reliance+ on the constitutive force of law as the main intervention in the regulation of public order has had minimal success thus far. Rather, local democratization processes appear to have had better success in regulating and facilitating non-state policing activities. The case of Kisii County exemplifies the place of local conceptions and applications of democratic ideals including wider representation, accountability, equitable relations with the police and positive impact on the policing environment generally, hence contributing to the emergence of an inclusive and non-violent community policing structure.