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Influence of Nyumba Kumi Community Policing Initiative on Social Cohesion among Cosmopolitan Sub Locations in Nakuru County

Nyumba Kumi Initiative was introduced in the Kenya community policing cycle by presidential order of the President of Republic of Kenya gazetted in 2013. The Nyumba Kumi Initiative was to anchor community policing at the household level with a definite physical address with the aim of achieving a safe and sustainable neighborhood. Most studies pursue an initiative of community policing by looking at the security aspect while leaving out social cohesion within cosmopolitan communities. This study therefore assessed the influence of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative on Social Cohesion among cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County. The study specifically examined the influence of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative partnership process on building inter-community trust among cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County; the influence of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative communication process on building inter-community’ trust among cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County; the influence of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative transparency and accountability on building inter-community trust among cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County; and the influence of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative democratic community policing on building inter-community trust among cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County. The study adopted the ex post facto research design. The target population of the study was the 87 Assistant Chiefs in the cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru Town. The study conveniently took a census of all the 87 Assistant Chiefs to form the required sample. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires administered to the study sample. The validity of research instruments was tested using content validity and reliability using Cronbach Alpha. The study used the Pearson Correlation to establish the relationship between the input elements of the Nyumba Kumi Initiative and the level of inter-community trust. The study found out that the Assistant Chiefs in the cosmopolitan sub-locations in Nakuru County used the initiative purely for tackling insecurity but not to integrate the respective communities living in their sub-locations towards a cohesive society. This was evident by the fact that apart from partnership and communication achieved at different levels of the initiative structure, there were low levels of transparency and accountability in running the initiative and poor democratization process in the initiative thus limited influence on social integration in the sub-locations. The study recommended concerted effort from all stakeholders to improve the level of democratization, transparency and accountability in the Nyumba Kumi Community Policing Initiative. Key Words: Social Cohesion, Nyumba Kumi, Community Policing, Social Control, Community Partnership, Community Security
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