The Best Practices of Commercialized Security on National Security in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Commercialised security has grown and developed in Kenya. This is attributed to citizens' many security demands on the state. Hence they turn to commercialised security to complement. Despite this development, few studies have studied the best practices of commercialised security on national security. The study took on a cross-sectional survey design. It was done in Nairobi involving adult residents. A multistage sampling technique was employed to obtain the wards to be studied. Those managing or purchasing the commercialised security services for their establishments and the managers of commercialised security firms were purposively sampled. The general public and the security guards were systematically sampled. Questionnaires and scheduled interviews were used to collect data. The SPSS version 25 was employed in data management and analysis. In the research, descriptive statistics included percentages and frequency distribution tables to summarise variables into thematic areas and convey the characteristics of critical variables. The study identified five best practices of commercialised security on national security: improvement in working conditions of the security personnel, adequate training and development, cooperation with the state security agencies, after-sale service and enforcement of regulations. The study concluded that the favourable mechanisms could only be realised through the consultation of the stakeholders: the commercial security industry, the citizens and the state. Thus the study recommended that The Private Security Regulation Authority needs to implement some of the requirements in the PSRA No. 13 of 2016.