Challenges Facing the Provision of Security Services by Private Security Firms; A Study of Juja Town, Kiambu County, Kenya
Abstract
Security is fundamental in all societies. It ensures that society thrives due to the assurance of the safety of lives and property. It is through security that people can invest in the community and develop the area. It is also worth noting that safety and security lie at the heart of the prosperity of any nation. Every citizen wants to feel secure and protected from any injury or risk. However, today security is faced with challenges in diverse aspects of people’s daily lives, and trust lies in the institutions mandated to keep people safe. In this new reality, governments are overstretched by providing security to the details of their citizen’s endeavours. That is why private securities are contracted to provide the needed security to fill the gaps. It is essential to underscore private security’s role in society further. The analysis directs us to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory that Abraham Maslow advanced in 1943. The theory opines that as people meet their basic needs, they tend to have an insatiable desire to ensure their satisfaction with higher needs concerning the hierarchy, as proposed by Maslow. Security is increasingly becoming a priority to many as time goes on. Private security has become popular today due to its flexibility and ability to cater to personalized demands. However, the sector faces many challenges, including mistrust from national law enforcement. The research considers the town of Juja in Kiambu County, Kenya, to highlight the challenges faced by private security apparatus in Kenya. The challenges discovered range from sectorial to societal. Proper reforms would be needed to improve the efficiency of private security in Kenya. Despite the challenges, years of operation have witnessed growth in the sector
Downloads
References
Anicent, T. N. (2014). The role of private security in community policing: Case of Kikuyu Sub County, Kiambu County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Baldwin L.P, I. Z. (2001). Outsourcing information systems: drawing lessons from a banking case study. European Journal of information systems, p. 10.
Bekkers, V. (2005). The Governance of Back Office Integration in E-Government: Some Dutch Experiences. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/11545156_2
Dawes, S. S. (1996). Interagency information sharing: Expected benefits, manageable risks. Journal of policy analysis and management, 15(3), 377-394.
Diphoorn, T. (2019). ‘Arms for mobility’: policing partnerships and material exchanges in Nairobi, Kenya. Policing and society.
Ekwenye, O. Z., Theuri, M. M., & Mwenda, L. K. M. (2018). Drivers of quality service provision by private security firms in mitigating crime in Nairobi County, Kenya.
George, B., & Kimber, S. (2014). The history of private security and its impact on the modern security sector. In The Handbook of Security (pp. 21-40). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Hoogwout. (2010). ICT-Supported reforms of service delivery in Flemish.
International Trade Administration. (2021, September 13). Kenya - Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT). Retrieved from www.trade.gov website: https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/kenya-information-communications-and-technology-ict
Johnston, J., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (1998). Review of Understanding Governance: Policy Networks, Governance, Reflexivity, and Accountability. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 20(3), 394–396. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25611298
Kerandi, A. (2015). E-government and the Transformation of Public Administration in Developing Countries: A Case Study of the Kenya Revenue Authority. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/32462/3
Landsbergen, D., & Wolken, G. (1998). Eliminating legal and policy barriers to interoperable government systems. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/
Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing Fully Functional E-Government: A Four Stage Model. Government Information Quarterly, pp. 18, 122–136.
Margetts, H., & Dunleavy, P. (2005). The Second Wave of Digital-Era Governance: A Quasi-Paradigm for Government on the Web.
Mauti, J. N. (2021). The Dynamics of private security provisioning in homeland security in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, Strathmore University).
Nambanga, H. E. (2021). Towards a Collaborative Security Approach in Africa-the Implications of Arming Private Security Guards in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Ochieng, O., (2022). Security guards to be vetted before recruitment says Elungata. [online] The Star. Available at: <https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/coast/2022-03-16-security-guards-to-be-vetted-before-recruitment-says-elungata/> [Accessed 4 October 2022].
Opanga, E. (2019). Effects of Selected Factors on Strategic Decision Making in Private Security Firms in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Osborne, S. P. (2006) The New Public Governance?, Public Management Review, 8:3, 377-387, DOI: 10.1080/14719030600853022
Osborne, & Gaebler. (1992). Restructuring Local Government. Retrieved from cms.mildredwarner.org website: http://cms.mildredwarner.org/summaries/osborne1992
Otte, Z. E. (2019). Drivers Of Quality Service Provision By Private Security Firms: Mitigating Crime In Nairobi County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation).
Provan, K. G., & Milward, H. B. (2001). Do networks really work? A framework for evaluating public‐sector organizational networks. Public administration review, 61(4), 414-423.
Snijkers, G., Vis-Visschers, R., & Onat, E. (2007). The Annual Structural Business Survey: Developing and Testing an Electronic Form, In Proceedings of ICES-III, American Statistical Association, Alexandria, Virginia.
Stefaniuk, T. (2020). Training in shaping employee information security awareness. Entrep. Sustain, 7.
Tapscott, D. (1996). The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence.
Visnov, S. J. (2018, January 19). How Technology Influences the Security Industry. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from Echelon Protection & Surveillance website: https://www.epsagents.com/technology-influences-security-industry/
Yang, T.-M., & Maxwell, T. A. (2011). Information-sharing in public organizations: A literature review of interpersonal, intra-organizational and inter-organizational success factors. Government Information Quarterly, 28(2), 164– 175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2010.06.008
Copyright (c) 2022 Agosta Mecca Mekolela, Shadrack Bett
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
