Abstract
This study aimed to examine the role of private security providers in crime prevention in Lurambi Sub-County, Kenya. The study was necessitated by private security providers' presence and use to protect life, property, and maintenance of law and order in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya. The Routine Activity and Situational Crime Prevention Theories of criminology informed the study. Specifically, this study intended to establish resource availability for private security service providers in crime prevention in Lurambi Sub-county, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive and correlational research designs. The primary target population constituted 358 respondents, both male and female, drawn from six registered and regulated private security service providers in Lurambi Sub-County, 5 senior police officers in charge of security, police administration, and 4 police stations across Lurambi Sub-County, and 133 clients of private security services. Purposive sampling was used to identify the 6 registered and licensed private security firms which provided the study population. Proportionate sampling with a statistical framework of 30% was used to identify 108 private security service providers who formed the sample size to ensure that the private security officers from the 6 firms were represented in the same proportion that they existed within the population. Questionnaires were used to collect data from three groups of respondents, including 108 private security officers, 6 managers each in charge of each private security firm that participated in the study, and 40 clients sampled from the 6 private security firms that participated in the study. Interview guides were used to collect data from 5 senior police officers in charge of security, police administration, and 4 police stations spread across Lurambi Sub-County. The study findings revealed that private security service providers were not adequately trained, hence impacting crime prevention negatively in Lurambi Sub-County. The study recommended that private security service providers consider providing relevant and timely training programs to strengthen crime prevention efforts. Key Terms: Training Levels, Private Security, Crime Prevention DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/11-6-04 Publication date: July 31 st 2021
Highlights
Introduction to Private Security RegulatoryAct 2016 2(2.24%) 87 (97.75%) Total 89 (100.0%)Study findings in table 3 reveal that 57.30% were not trained on basic communication skills, which is an essential part and parcel of their daily activities based on the fact that private security, especially those working in public spaces, deal with a large number of people and have to communicate effectively both to the members of the public, their clients and in some cases the law enforcement agencies
Respondents were drawn from 6 private security companies, 25 business premises, 8 private residences, 3 learning institutions and, 3 police stations, all spread across Lurambi Sub
This is considered as the lowest academic qualification for one to be employed as a private security service provider in Kenya based on the fact that at this level, an individual is considered literate and can be able to do the paperwork involved in private security
Summary
Study findings in table 3 reveal that 57.30% were not trained on basic communication skills, which is an essential part and parcel of their daily activities based on the fact that private security, especially those working in public spaces, deal with a large number of people and have to communicate effectively both to the members of the public, their clients and in some cases the law enforcement agencies This limits their role in crime prevention. Going back to the annals of history, Dempsey (2010) sheds light on the earliest documented circumstances in British England that necessitated the origin and the establishment of Private Security The advent of this enterprise was catalyzed by increased crime in rural England in the early eighteenth century, which prompted the rich to recruit private individuals who mostly included gamekeepers to secure their properties on their behalf. The concept of Private security became the norm globally
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