| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to establish the factors influencing the
implementation of community policing programmes: a case of Thika Municipality
in Kiambu County with a view to suggesting strategies that could be employed to
improve effectiveness of community policing. The objectives of the study were to:
determine the level of community participation in community policy decisionmaking;
find out the composition of community policing committees in terms of
gender, education, age and religion; establish the attitudes of members of the
community towards community policing; determine the attitudes of security
officers (police, provincial administration) towards community policing; and
propose strategies that could be employed to improve effectiveness of community
policing. The study employed a mixed methods research design targeting all the
136,917 residents of Thika Municipality, the District Commissioner (DC) and the
Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD), police officers within the area of
study, and members of the community policing forums. Stratified random
sampling was used to select 383 members of the public, while purposive sampling
was employed to select 20 police officers, 10 community policing committee
members, the DC and the OCPD. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and
interview schedules. Prior to the actual data collection procedure, a pilot study was
conducted on a small number of community members from Thika Municipality.
The pilot study provided an opportunity to detect and remedy any potential
problems with the instruments. Data was both qualitative and quantitative.
Quantitative data collected was coded and entered into an SPSS programme for
analysis. Qualitative data was put under themes consistent with the research
objectives. The results of data analysis were presented using frequency distribution
tables. The study established that the community actively participated community
policing. Community policing committee members comprised of security officers,
community members, religious leaders and community administrators and the
minority. Most of the general public members and security officers had a positive
attitude towards community policing, and the positive attitudes led to good
working relationships between the police and members of the public, which
enhanced the community policing programme. The study found that measures such
as ensuring confidentiality of the information, regular meeting to discuss security
matters and sensitizing the community on importance of community policing
should be implemented to enhance effectiveness of community policing. The study
recommends that: the community should work with the security officers to help
improve and strengthen community policing; and committee members should
sensitize the community on importance of community policing, which can be
achieved by organizing regular meetings. | en |
