The Political Economy of Prison Based Security Threats and their Effects on Public Safety; The Case of Kenya Prison System
Abstract
This study sought to grapple with "The Political Economy of Prison Based Security
Threats and their Effect on Public Safety in Kenya." It responds to three critical questions; What
is the nature and form of emerging prison based security threats? What factors undergird the
current prison based security threats? And what institutional policies and frameworks are critical
for enhancing prison role in societal protection and public safety?
The study is underpinned by three objectives which sought to examine and analyze the
nature and form of emerging prison based security threats, the factors that undergird these threats
and the apparent inability by the institutional policy frameworks to contain the threat.
The study contends that the prevailing prison based security threats are as a result of
emerging trends in crime bolstered by technological advancement, globalization factors together
with the convergence of differentiated specialized criminal elements and the weak and outdated
policy frameworks.
In response to this, we recommend that the prisons department juxtaposes its policy
frameworks with the emerging crime trends in tandem with the demands of modern day
technological advancement. This can be achieved by adopting a paradigmatic shift in the modus
operandi in the management of prisons. This will entail a radical approach to the training and
forming of the prison officer equipping him skills, values and attitudes of a correctional officer.
Core here is that the administration and exercise of justice which includes imprisonment should
serve the purpose of a safe and secure society.
Citation
Degree of Masters of Arts in International Studies, University of Nairobi, 2012Publisher
University of Nairobi