Police Use of Social Media and Public Trust in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2024-11
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study investigated how public trust is affected by police usage of social media and its effects on Nairobi County's security management. The following objectives guided the study; analyzing social media platforms used by police, examining public attitudes and perceptions of the members of the public towards police usage of social media, analyzing strategies that police use on social media to enhance public trust and examining impact of the challenges police encounter in gaining public trust through use of social media. The technological acceptability model and information flow theory directed the study. The study employed survey research design, target population was 9350 and the sample size was 384. simple and purposeful random sampling approaches were used, while questionnaires and interviews were utilized as data gathering tools. Quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS output for descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analyzed thematically as per study objectives. The study established that Facebook and X are the most preferred social media platforms for police communication. On the same note, study found out that public perception and attitudes significantly influence public trust on police use of social media. Further the study established that the people of Nairobi are aware of the police's social media strategies and the most common strategies are incident reporting and updating, with moderate use of public relations. Community discussions are less common. On the last objective, the study revealed that police face challenges in using social media to build public trust, with false information, misuse, privacy concerns, technical issues, lack of resources, and inadequate training being the most significant issues. In conclusion, the study found that Facebook and X are the most preferred social media platforms by the Kenyan police for communication with the public. Public trust is significantly influenced by social media strategies like incident reporting and updating, but challenges such as misinformation, privacy concerns, and resource limitations hinder their effectiveness. The study recommends regular updates, transparency, and expanded use of platforms including TikTok and WhatsApp. Improved public awareness campaigns, investment in training, and technical tools are essential to overcoming these barriers and fostering trust.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Security, Diplomacy and Peace Studies for the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of the Award of Masters in Security Science and Management of Kenyatta University, November 2024.
Supervisor
Chris Ndunda Zakayo