Police officers’ perceptions of factors contributing to corruption in the police force;a case of Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Corruption is a vice which has been tried to be eradicated in the Republic of Kenya but to no avail. Corruption is evident in almost every public sector in our country. Successive governments have cried foul of this menace but no single regime was able to control it. The police are ranked as the most corrupt public officers in the country. The police are expected to provide very crucial services to the people. They are mandated to keep law and order in the country. Con'uption can stand out as a very serious impediment to them in providing their services to the public. This study attempted to investigate police officers’ perceptions of factors contributing to corruption in the police force. The study focused on three objectives: to determine institutional factors which are contributing to persistence of corruption among members of the police service in Kenya, to establish the influence of the public’s corruption culture to corruption in the police force and to identify possible solutions from the police themselves. The study looked at the problem from the police point of view. The study used qualitative methods of research. The study was guided by theory of social disorganization. The researcher gathered data using focus group discussion and the research design used was grounded theory research design through a typical case of Nakuru County. Samples were gathered through purposive sampling technique. The research held focus group discussions with police officers from the five selected police stations within Nakuru County. The five police stations selected are; Nakuru Central Police Station, Bondeni Police Station, Nakuru Railway Police Station, Njoro Police Station and Bahati Police station. Two focus groups discussions were conducted in Njoro and Bondeni to determine the public’s views on police corruption. Trustworthiness was ensured by testing the focus group interview guide through a pilot study. Adherence to the focus group guide was used as a means of ensuring objectivity. Credibility was ensued by frequent debriefing with the research supervisors and peers scrutiny of research project. Triangulation of the five police stations being studied was also employed as a means of ensuring credibility. The data analysis was done through thematic content analysis with the help of Nvivo software where themes and concepts were analyzed. The findings from the study showed that the police officers perceived themselves to be corrupt and that the police corruption culture is just but a true reflection of the nature of the society. The study also found that bribery is mostly given to the police by the law breaking citizens who want their dirty and corrupt lives covered by the police. The study recommends a multi sectoral approach to curb corruption. The study gave out a recommendation that intensive civic education should be done to enlighten the public on the negative effects of corruption