E-ISSN 2039-2117 ISSN 2039-9340 Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy Vol 4 No 13 November 2013 Professionalising Peripheral Police Officers* in Kenya: Implications For Curriculum Development Kenedy Onyango Asembo Kasembo2005@yahoo.com Mutendwahothe Walter Lumadi Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies University of South Africa lumadmw@unisa.ac.za Doi:10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n13p781 Abstract Management of non-professional Peripheral Police Officers (PPOs) has continued to pose a challenge to the Government of Kenya. The PPOs’ arbitrary recruitment, lack of training, lack of standard operating procedures and vulnerability to political manipulation, among other factors, limit their ability to effectively discharge their duties as police officers. Consequently, the PPOs have been chiefly blamed for the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country, especially among the pastoralist communities, a phenomenon that has escalated the rate of crime in the country. In order to address the scourge, the government has put in place a training policy meant to professionalise the PPOs so they can effectively play a complementary role in delivering policing services to the citizenry. The objective of this study was to carry out a training needs analysis in order to develop a curriculum and training manual that would be used in implementing the training policy. The study adopted an Organisation-Task-Person model and found that, whereas the training needs point towards a traditional law enforcement curriculum, the stakeholders expect a postmodern force orientated towards community policing. Given the officers’ semiliterate background, the dilemma is not so much delivering the much-desired traditional curriculum as reorienting the curriculum towards community policing. Using the Goldstein (1987) and Wong (2009) models of community policing, the study recommends a hybrid broad-based curriculum model, which combines both the traditional and postmodern aspects into a “partnership policing training model”. 1. Introduction Poor management of the Peripheral Police Officers 1 (PPOs) in Kenya has been blamed for the increased availability of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) in the country. Even though Kenya’s policy on SALWs has been to reduce all forms of proliferation by coordinating their management and control through legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks, the high rate of illicit trade in SALWs – especially in pastoralist areas, which are mainly policed by PPOs – has overwhelmed security agencies. It is estimated that there are over 600 000 illegal firearms in the country, a situation that has persistently fuelled both internal and cross-border insecurity (Wepundi, Nthiga, Kabuu, Murray & Del Farte 2012; Mkuutu 2005). The National Police Service Act of 2011 recognises the officers’ key role in complementing the national police in rural areas, where police strength is inadequate. Nevertheless, over the years, efforts to professionalise the PPO as a security service have been lukewarm. Such challenges as arbitrary recruitment, poor firearm-handling skills, poor remuneration, lack of standard operating procedures and vulnerability to political manipulation have raised grave concerns about the administration of the security service (Wepundi 2011). Hence the majority of PPOs continue to operate as ragtag militia, especially in pastoralist areas. As the demand to disarm the population and ensure lasting peace for communities continues to increase, the role of the PPOs in this process remains crucial (Ndungu 2010). But their effectiveness in performing disarmament alongside their regular duties will rely significantly on their professionalism. Within the demand to recalibrate the PPO Service set out in the National Disarmament Action Plan, 2013, the Government of Kenya has prioritised training PPOs in professional policing skills (Kenya National Focal Point 2013). The 1 For ethical reasons, Peripheral Police Officers (PPOs), Terare*, Swanga*, Wakondo*, Kabade*, Ligongo* Masukari*, Wayando Police Academy*, Ogongo Training School*; Chune Police Training College and Farasi Training Depot* are all pseudonyms. 781