A new national study by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) has revealed that lack of resources remains the biggest challenge facing community policing efforts in Kenya.
According to the findings, 59 percent of respondents cited limited resources as the leading obstacle to effective implementation of community policing programmes.
The report, which was released following a study conducted in December 2024 across 11 counties, also showed that low awareness levels among the public, corruption by rogue officers, and lack of trust between communities and the police were other major challenges.
Each of these factors was cited by 59 percent of respondents as significant barriers.
Additional concerns raised in the report include lack of motivation and incentives for community members and police officers, weak monitoring and evaluation systems, poor coordination between community policing committees and police units, and minimal public participation.
The study also pointed to fear of retaliation from criminals, public apathy, and the risk of being labelled police informers as further deterrents to active participation in community policing.
The research was carried out in Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Uasin Gishu, Bungoma, Garissa, Turkana, and Isiolo.
Data was collected from members of the public through a household survey to assess the effectiveness and public perception of community policing initiatives.
According to the study, 57 percent of respondents felt safe in their communities, while 43 percent reported feeling unsafe.
The sense of insecurity was attributed to various factors, including a rise in crime, slow police response to distress calls, the spread of illicit alcohol and drug abuse, lack of infrastructure such as street lighting, growing presence of criminal gangs, and police corruption.
The study also found that 56 percent of the respondents said they were familiar with the concept of community policing, 43 percent were somewhat familiar, and only 1 percent admitted to not being familiar at all.
Interestingly, the report noted that many Kenyans confuse National Police Service-led community policing initiatives with other government programmes like Nyumba Kumi or youth-focused projects such as Kazi Mtaani.
“People tend to assume that all government-led local initiatives are the same or connected,” reads part of the report.
Despite the challenges, community policing has had a positive impact in several areas.
The study found that it had led to a 66 percent reduction in fear of crime, better understanding of community security needs (55 percent), and greater public awareness of crime issues (54 percent).
Other gains include improved crime prevention and detection (50 percent), more active crime reporting (49 percent), stronger community cohesion (47 percent), and the use of alternative dispute resolution to handle petty offences (41 percent).
Police visibility has improved by 40 percent, while some reduction in drug abuse and youth crime was noted at 22 percent.
Additionally, 19 percent of respondents acknowledged improved police-community working relationships as a result of the community policing approach.
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