ASSESSING EFFECT OF COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING ON EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY SAFETY IN LAMU WEST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Even though community policing elements such as community problem solving have been mentioned as a possible factor influencing monitoring and evaluation of community safety, there is limited research to ascertain this in Lamu West Sub County. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of community problem solving on evaluation of community safety in Lamu West Sub-County. The study adopted quantitative design where data was collected from a sample of 405 respondents drawn from 32,873 of Lamu West Sub-County residents with the aid of a questionnaire. Correlation and regression analyses were adopted in data analysis to help in establishing the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The findings of this study demonstrated that there was statistically significant positive relationship between community problem solving and monitoring and evaluating community safety (β=0.634; p<0.05). The study found that aspects such as consultation, participation, engagement, professionalism, problem identification, proactive problem solving and mediation improves community safety. It is recommended that community problem solving should be strengthened because it builds trust, enhances information flow, and leads to the discovery of new areas where the police and the community may work together. Finally, community leadership should be people centered in order to enhance accountability that seeks to promote community safety. The study concluded that community problem solving significantly influence monitoring and evaluating community safety The study recommends that effective collaborations between law enforcement and community stakeholders are critical to public safety, and its critical that government agencies, community organizations, nonprofits, companies, and private citizens all see public safety as a shared duty. Community leadership should be people centered in order to enhance accountability that seeks to promote community safety. KEY WORDS: Community Problem Solving, Evaluation of Community Safety, Lamu West Sub-County