Community Policing in Kenya: Examining the Challenges Derailing Police-Civilian Relations in Teso South Sub-County.

Abstract

There is still a staggering implementation level of community policing strategy many years after its inception in Kenya. Part of the reason for dismal actualization is attributed to the controversial nature of the police as a public service institution. This research paper attempts to illuminate the challenges to the realization of community policing (CP) initiatives in Teso South Sub-county. Specific emphasis was placed on how the roles of the key players in CP together with the challenges they face in their service brings Community Policing (CP) as a whole to its knees. Busia County government, where Teso South Sub-County is located, still pays lip service to the CP initiative and it is not treated as a matter of urgency thus leading to its dormancy as a policing strategy. Data was collected from 108 respondents that included police officers and community members and stakeholders. Questionnaires, interviews, and focused group discussions were devised in collecting the data which was coded and then analyzed using mode. The data was presented by use of frequency tables and pie charts. The study has reviewed enough literature to help illuminate and understand the issues being studied appropriately. The findings of the study address the problems of implementation, including poor police-civilian partnerships and unawareness of respective roles among the public and the police who are the key players in CP. The study underscores that there is need for increased civic education and capacity building among police officers especially on CP for it to achieve its intended purpose.