Enhancing Community Policing Through Citizen Capacity-Building in Peri-Urban Areas: Evidence from Kisii Town, Kenya

Community policing (CP) is a key strategy for fostering collaboration between police and local communities to ensure safety and security. However, in practice, CP often remains state-driven, with citizens neither actively engaged nor perceiving themselves as equal partners in security management. This disconnect undermines its effectiveness and contributes to rising insecurity, including cases of theft, robbery, sexual violence, and homicide. This study examined citizen capacity-building initiatives for implementing community policing in the peri-urban centres of Kisii Town, Kenya. It was guided by Kanter's empowerment theory, which emphasizes access to information, resources, support, and skills development as essential for enhancing institutional effectiveness and community participation. A descriptive research design was adopted, targeting 525 participants, from which a sample of 217 was derived using Gill's (2010) formula. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings suggest that effective community policing is grounded in citizen capacity-building, which fosters collaboration between the police and local communities. The study concludes that empowering both stakeholders is essential for sustainable security outcomes and recommends joint programming of community security initiatives.