COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON CRIME PREVENTION IN ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON CRIME PREVENTION IN ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
Ndung’u Paul Mugo - Student, Master of Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Edna Jemutai Moi - Lecturer, Department of Public Policy and Administration, School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Economic prosperity of any nation owes its growth to myriads of factors such as political, economic, environmental, and social. Crime has proved to be a major bottleneck to economic growth and development as it causes economic uncertainty, discouraging long-term investment and new employment opportunities as well as eroding the rule of law. The various governments across the globe have devised ways of curbing crime and this includes the establishment of police entities. Past studies have established that these entities exhibit gaps that have called for other alternative approaches to crime prevention. This study focuses on community participation as an alternative to crime prevention. It highlighted various crime prevention strategies with major focus on community involvement. This study was guided by objectives which include determination of how the flow of information affects crime prevention in Isiolo County, establishing the extent to which transparency of security agencies assist in crime prevention in Isiolo County and investigating the community engagement in crime prevention in Isiolo County. It was anchored on Rational choice theory and Routine activity approach. The target population consisted of community, political and religious leaders and the police officers within Isiolo Sub County. The respondents for this study comprised of 20 police officers 3 religious’ leaders, 6 group leaders, 3 national government administrators, 1 local elected leader and 18 community cluster heads. Data collection was done by use of questionnaire. The reliability of instrument was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.7 philosophy. The collected quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistical tools. The data was organized into various themes guided by the objectives of the study. The data was presented in form of frequency tables. The findings revealed that information shared by the community members allows the security agencies to manage evidence-based, community safety interventions and examine their effectiveness. The study concludes that effect of community participation on crime prevention is undeniable, with significant implications for the flow of information, transparency of security agencies, and community engagement. Firstly, when community members actively participate in crime prevention efforts, the flow of information between residents and security agencies improves significantly. The county government and national government should establish robust channels for the flow of information. Communities should be encouraged to report suspicious activities promptly, and mechanisms must be put in place to ensure that this information reaches relevant authorities efficiently. Establishing accessible hotlines, online platforms, or community centers where residents can relay concerns or observations can greatly bolster the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts.
