Information and Communication Technology Application and Criminal Investigations at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Marsabit County

Abstract

The focus of this study was the application of information and communication technology and criminal investigations at the directorate of criminal investigations in Marsabit County. The study objectives were: to establish the extent of ICT use and the drivers of ICT among police detectives while conducting criminal investigations. The study further sought to establish challenges faced in the application of ICT use during criminal investigations and whether there was a relationship between ICT use and success of criminal investigations in Marsabit County. Descriptive and inferential survey designs were adopted. Questionnaires were used to collect data. DCI officers in Marsabit County were the respondents where a census survey was conducted. Analysis was done using frequencies, means, standard deviation and factor analysis. Regression analysis was also used to establish whether a relationship between ICT use and success of criminal investigations existed. The study concluded that to a large extent, police detectives used mobile phones, internet and computers to conduct criminal investigations and that to a large extent, ICT was used in preparation of cases to be taken to court, identification of any additional evidence and analysis of existing leads. The study also concluded that to a large extent, drivers of ICT were to process case documents much faster, enable them profile suspects ,recover digital evidence and safely and securely store information. Major challenges that police detectives in Marsabit County had to contend with were lack of CCTV cameras in critical areas within their work jurisdiction, inadequate ICT technologies to store and preserve evidence, inadequate ICT technologies to gather sufficient evidence and lack of technical knowledge. Findings showed that there was no significant relationship between ICT use and success of criminal investigations in Marsabit County. The study recommends the prompt installation of CCTV cameras in critical areas based on private and public collaborative efforts, harnessing cloud computing and storage, improved policy on budgetary allocations to the investigative function of the police, general improvement of police working conditions and continuous training of staff on ICT use and emerging ICT techniques and technologies. The study further recommends further research on determining the other independent variables (exogenous variables) not considered in this study that affect success of criminal investigations as well as studies to develop a model to measure the success of criminal investigations.