The Contributions of Community Service Orders Programme in Community Development in Kitui County

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the contributions of community service orders programme in community development in Kitui County. Community Service Orders programme is an order of a court which requires offenders to perform free community work which is of benefit to the community. This programme being a sentence is more reparative and restorative in nature compared to prison sentences this is what is premised in chapter one. The statement of problem for this study is that, the programme has been operational since 1998, many public projects have been implemented but there are no efforts made to recognize the programme as a major important tool for community development. Further there is no documented information about the success of the programme nor are there studies to inform policies, planning or decision making in matters related to the programme. This study has documented the contributions of the programme in Kitui County. The study was guided by three specific objectives as, to establish the community and the offenders’ perceptions towards community service Orders programme, to explore the community projects implemented under the programme and to examine the effects of the programme on community development. The theories which guide the study were the restorative and the social control theories. The study adopted non - probability sampling techniques where by purposive and simple random methods were used. Further the collected data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages; it was there after presented in tabular form through use of tables. Some of the major findings of the study are that, the community members and the offenders have a good understanding about the CSO programme, their attitude towards IV the programme is quite positive and that were willing to embrace it even in future. All the respondents interviewed concurred that the programme contributes to community development and that it has several benefits and positive impacts to the community. The study recommends more future use of the programme and that the key implementers need to conduct wider sensitizations about the programme for it to remain relevant and effective.