Citizens’ satisfaction with police recruitment exercise: a case study of Bomet County, Kenya.

Abstract

Previous studies have examined citizens' perceptions of the police. However, studies on the citizens’ perception of police recruitment are scarce. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating citizens' attitudes toward the recruitment of new police officers into the national police service. The study's objective was to determine citizens' satisfaction with the way police recruitment exercise is carried out in Bomet County, Kenya. The target population for the study was 875,689 citizens. This study used a descriptive research design. The simple random sampling method was used to pick three Sub-Counties in Bomet County and the respondents for the study from those selected sub-counties. A questionnaire with a series of statements on the Likert Scale was used to collect data. Analysis of the data was done through frequencies, percentages, and Chi-Square. The results were presented through frequency distribution tables. The study found that the respondents were not satisfied with the way police recruitment is done. The police recruitment exercise is still affected by police illegitimacy and other various vices such as bribery, nepotism, favoritism, and discrimination. The conclusion was that police the recruitment process is still below the recommended fairness, accountability, and transparency standards. These low standards during recruitment make citizens feel dissatisfied with police recruitment exercises. Keywords: Citizens’ satisfaction, police recruitment exercise