Impact of Security Companies’ Response on Security Service Delivery in Nakuru Central Business District, Nakuru City, Kenya.

Abstract

Insecurity in Nakuru City has increased over the past years, thus demanding urgent attention and mechanisms to control the number of crimes and improve security in the city. The National government, through the National Police Service (NPS), was not able to meet the high demand for security in Nakuru town, thus the rise in the numbers of private security companies as a complement. Therefore, there was a need to investigate the impact which was brought about by the Private security companies responding in order to deliver security services. The study aimed to find out the response strategies that the private security companies used in their service delivery and the impact that was brought about by the response. The study was guided by routine activity theory and deterrence theory. The study area was Nakuru town; the study used a descriptive survey design, and probability and non-probability sampling techniques were used. The sample size was 126 respondents drawn from 12 private security companies. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data, and the collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that there was a positive impact that was brought about by security companies responding to incidences. The responsive strategy that the private security companies had was well organized; the companies were able to respond in time and attend to the clients’ grievances, and this showed a high level of coordination. The findings of the study have informed the National government of the need for private security companies to have workable response plans and strategies for effective response. The findings have also created awareness to the private security companies on the need to have an active response strategy when they are attending to consumers' issues.