Role of ‘Nyumba Kumi’ Community Policing Strategy in combating crime in Baringo North Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Community policing, a strategy used in combating crime across the globe, continues to attract scholarly attention. The main objective of the study was to explore the role of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in combating crime in Baringo North Sub County, Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to: analyse the legal, policy and institutional framework of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing; to examine the role of the police and the community in implementation of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing and; to assess the effectiveness of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in reducing crime. In terms of geographical scope, the researcher focused on the role of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in reducing crime in Baringo North Sub County, Kenya. On the theoretical scope, the study was guided by the broken window theory. The study was limited to Baringo North Sub-County which is one of the six Sub Counties of Baringo County. The study employed descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling was used to sample 25 respondents drawn from different groups that had pertinent information including 8 local administrators, 1 SCPC, 1 OCS, 5 WC, 5 NGO representatives and 5 CBO representatives in Baringo North Sub-County. Interview schedules was used in collecting primary data while secondary data was collected from existing literature and analysed using document/content analysis. The findings of the study were presented descriptively. For objective one, the study established that community policing is largely perceived as one of the key driving forces of police reforms and the proposed shift to democratic policing which involves the nation‟s citizens. In this regard, Kenya‟s policy framework matches the global trend of initiatives towards police reform which hold community policing as a significant strategy in combating crime. As for objective two, the findings revealed that some stakeholders such as the youth have low profile participation in the „Nyumba Kumi‟ initiative and that some of the police have been involved in unprofessional conduct which makes community policing to be negatively perceived. As for objective three the findings established that community policing is effective regardless of the fact that crime keeps rising, which points to the necessity of development of further interventions addressing emerging issues including but unlimited to social, economic and technological issues with a focus on police performance in facilitating and enhancing community engagement in community policing affairs. The study also identified that vigilante groups play a significant role in effecting community policing. Vigilante groups mainly composed of youth who have chosen to participate in community policing with a focus on countering tendencies of crime in the area. The study recommended the streamlining and mainstreaming of the „Nyumba Kumi‟ and community policing initiatives. The study further recommended for the link between the police officers and members of the public to be strengthened especially where there is mistrust by members of the public towards the police, in order to curtail hesitation in community participation in the „Nyumba Kumi‟ initiative.

Community policing, a strategy used in combating crime across the globe, continues to attract scholarly attention. The main objective of the study was to explore the role of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in combating crime in Baringo North Sub County, Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to: analyse the legal, policy and institutional framework of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing; to examine the role of the police and the community in implementation of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing and; to assess the effectiveness of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in reducing crime. In terms of geographical scope, the researcher focused on the role of „Nyumba Kumi‟ community policing strategy in reducing crime in Baringo North Sub County, Kenya. On the theoretical scope, the study was guided by the broken window theory. The study was limited to Baringo North Sub-County which is one of the six Sub Counties of Baringo County. The study employed descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling was used to sample 25 respondents drawn from different groups that had pertinent information including 8 local administrators, 1 SCPC, 1 OCS, 5 WC, 5 NGO representatives and 5 CBO representatives in Baringo North Sub-County. Interview schedules was used in collecting primary data while secondary data was collected from existing literature and analysed using document/content analysis. The findings of the study were presented descriptively. For objective one, the study established that community policing is largely perceived as one of the key driving forces of police reforms and the proposed shift to democratic policing which involves the nation‟s citizens. In this regard, Kenya‟s policy framework matches the global trend of initiatives towards police reform which hold community policing as a significant strategy in combating crime. As for objective two, the findings revealed that some stakeholders such as the youth have low profile participation in the „Nyumba Kumi‟ initiative and that some of the police have been involved in unprofessional conduct which makes community policing to be negatively perceived. As for objective three the findings established that community policing is effective regardless of the fact that crime keeps rising, which points to the necessity of development of further interventions addressing emerging issues including but unlimited to social, economic and technological issues with a focus on police performance in facilitating and enhancing community engagement in community policing affairs. The study also identified that vigilante groups play a significant role in effecting community policing. Vigilante groups mainly composed of youth who have chosen to participate in community policing with a focus on countering tendencies of crime in the area. The study recommended the streamlining and mainstreaming of the „Nyumba Kumi‟ and community policing initiatives. The study further recommended for the link between the police officers and members of the public to be strengthened especially where there is mistrust by members of the public towards the police, in order to curtail hesitation in community participation in the „Nyumba Kumi‟ initiative.