Adoption of Electronic Policing Services in Crime Control in Nairobi County
Abstract
Electronic policing refers to the use of the Internet to deliver police services to the public. It is
the use of the computer (including digital telephony) technologies to deliver police services.
Police agencies can be mentioned as among groups that have high usage rates of information
technology systems. The main objective of the study was to investigate the factors affecting
adoption of electronic policing in crime control and citizen services. This research problem was
studied through the use of a descriptive survey design. Questionnaires were used to collect data
from the OCS and OCPD of all the 17 police units in Nairobi County. The data collected was
edited, coded and classified as per each objective so as to present the results of the data analysis
in a systematic and clear way. Data was then subjected to analysis and presented by means of
frequency tables and charts. The study concluded that the police adopted electronic
identification; police-public interface; centralized information storehouse; radio frequency
identification (RFID) and electronic transport (E-Transport) systems. The police further adopted
online verification and fingerprints reader; real-time Information access; closed circuit television
(CCTV) and intelligent sensors systems in crime control in Nairobi County. The study
recommends that the government should provide new information technologies promoting better
performance in law enforcement agencies. The study also recommends that the government
should look at the structure of police organizations, the characteristics of policing, and the
demand of maintaining efficient information processing to enable police to use information
technology effectively like in business community. The study further recommends that the
government should introduce community policing policy which is perhaps the most familiar term
in modern policing which should be variously associated with community policing based on the
idea that police should work closely with citizens to cultivate public trust in the police and to
better address citizens’ public safety concerns.