EFFECTIVENESS OF FOOT PATROLS AS A POLICE PRESENCE STRATEGY IN CRIME DETERRENCE WITHIN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Police presence is a key pillar of law enforcement because it helps prevent crime, maintain public order, and build community trust. This study examined the effectiveness of foot patrols as a police presence strategy in deterring crime in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study was guided by Crime Deterrence Theory and Routine Activity Theory and adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population included general duty police officers stationed in Nairobi County, National Government Administration Officers, Community Policing officials, Business Community officials, and Nairobi residents’ association officials. Purposive, stratified, and simple random sampling techniques were used. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and key informant interview guides. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with descriptive statistics summarizing respondents’ perceptions and inferential statistics examining effectiveness of foot patrols as a police presence strategy in crime deterrence. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically to capture views on effectiveness, operational challenges, and improvement measures. The findings showed that foot patrols explained 31.6 percent of crime deterrence, indicating a strong perceived effect on crime reduction in Nairobi City County. Foot patrols were especially effective in crowded and high-risk areas because they increased police visibility, enabled direct interaction with residents, and improved informal surveillance. They were useful in deterring street-level crimes such as robbery, mugging, pickpocketing, phone snatching, drug peddling, and street harassment. Key challenges included limited resources, workforce shortages, irregular deployment, weak supervision, and poor police-community relations. The study recommends strengthening foot patrol deployment in crime hotspots, markets, transport centres, residential estates, informal settlements, and evening crime-prone areas.
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