FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNITY POLICING STRATEGY ON CRIME PREVENTION

Abstract

This study examined the factors affecting the performance of the community policy strategy on crime prevention in Muheza District Council. It specifically examined the effects of Training/Education Programs, to determine the effect of Trust between Community Members, to examine the effects of Community Members’ Meetings, and to assess the effect of Operational Resources on the Performance of Community policing in Crime Prevention. The study employed, namely Community-Oriented Policing Theory and Problem-Oriented Policing Theory. The study was quantitative in nature and used a cross-sectional research design. The targeted population was 65,622, and the sample size was 226 as obtained from Krejcie and Morgan (1970). The researcher also employed a stratified sampling technique to select the participants for this study. Data was collected using questionnaire and then were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS V26). The results revealed that Training/Education Programs (TEP): B = 0.420, p = 0.001), indicating that training positively affects community police performance. Also Trust in the Community (TCM): B = 0.640, p < 0.001 meaning that building trust is crucial for effective community policing. Also Community Meetings (CMM): B = 0.491, p = 0.003, contribute significantly to performance. Lastly, Operational Resources (ORE): B = 0.542, p < 0.001. Based on these findings, the study recommends that Police Force should update and improve community policing training programs. The study also recommends that transparency, respect for one another, and responsibility should be actively promoted in order to increase the level of trust between police personnel and the community.