Influence of Police Response Time and Investigative Practices on Homicide Case Clearance Rates in Kajiado West Sub County, Kajiado County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/jppa.3268Keywords:
Police Response Time, Investigative Practices, Homicide Clearance, Law Enforcement, Forensic Analysis, Kajiado West Sub CountyAbstract
Purpose: This study examines the influence of police response time and investigative practices on homicide case clearance rates in Kajiado West Sub County, Kenya. Police response time is crucial for securing crime scenes, preserving evidence, and identifying suspects, while investigative practices such as forensic analysis, witness collaboration, and crime scene management play a significant role in case resolution.
Methodology: The study employed a descriptive research design, utilizing both primary and secondary data collected from 109 police officers through structured questionnaires and official crime records. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 24.0, incorporating descriptive and inferential statistics, including multiple linear regression analysis.
Findings: Findings reveal that police response time significantly impacts homicide case clearance, with a strong correlation (r = 0.734, p < 0.01) and 53.9% of clearance rate variance explained by response time. Investigative practices also have a significant impact (r = 0.746, p < 0.01), explaining 55.6% of the variance in homicide clearance rates. Regression analysis confirms that improving response time (B = 0.596, p = 0.000) and investigative practices (B = 0.599, p = 0.000) significantly enhance clearance rates.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: To enhance homicide case clearance in Kajiado West Sub County, police response time should be reduced to below 30 minutes by increasing patrol vehicles and upgrading dispatch systems.
Downloads
References
Asanta, B. B., & Sirera, A. (2024). The efficacy of forensic techniques in providing admissible evidence in homicide investigations in Kisumu County; Kenya. Reviewed Journal of Social Science & Humanities, 5(1), 537-560.
Asher, J. (2023). Police Are Taking Longer to Respond [Sub stack newsletter].
Baradaran Baughman, S. (2020). How effective are police? The problem of clearance rates and criminal accountability. Ala. L. Rev., 72, 47.
Braga, A. A., Flynn, E. A., Kelling, G. L., & Cole, C. M. (2011). Moving the work of criminal investigators towards crime control (Harvard Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, US Department of Justice
Braga, A.A., Dusseault, D. (2018), “Can homicide detectives improve homicide clearance rates? Crime and Delinquency, Vol.64 No.3, pp.283-315.
Cook, P. J., & Mancik, A. (2024). The sixty-year trajectory of homicide clearance rates: Toward a better understanding of the great decline. Annual Review of Criminology, 7(1), 59-83.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Kaplan, S., Schenkel, A., Krogh, G., & Weber, C. (2001). Knowledge-Based Theories of the Firm in Strategic Management: A Review and Extension. Academy of Management Review, USA
Karami, A. (2005). An exploration of the chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) perception of strategic management process: the case of British high-tech SMEs. J. Corp. Ownersh. Control, 2(4), 62-70
Kivoi, L. (2022). How Nairobi police failures let people get away with murder. The Conversation. Retrieved from:https://theconversation.com/how-nairobi-police-failures-let-people-get-away-with-murder-185447.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Leipold, A. D. (2021). The puzzle of clearance rates, and what they can tell us about crime, police reform, and criminal justice. Wake Forest L. Rev., 56, 47.
Lemarleni, J. E., Ochieng, I., Gakobo, T., & Mwaura, P. (2017). Effects of resource allocation on strategy implementation at Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County. International Academic Journal of Human Resource and Business Administration, 2(4), 1-26
Maina, P. M. (2017). Influence of training on performance of police officers in Kenya Police Service: A case of police officers in Imenti South Police Division. Unpublished MBA Project
Makina, I., & Oundo, J.N. (2020). Analysis of the Effect of Resource Based View Model as aSourceofCompetitiveAdvantageonOrganisationalPerformance.International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science. 4 (10),152-155.
Mwai, J. (2024). Personal Security and Criminal Victimization: Case of Kajiado County, Kenya (Doctoral Dissertation, Kenyatta University)
National Police Service (2019). Annual Report. NPS, Kenya
National Police Service (NPS). (2019). Annual crime report. Government of Kenya.
Porter, M. E. (1991). Towards a dynamic theory of strategy. Strategic management journal, 12(S2), 95-117.
Prince, H., Lum, C., & Koper, C. (2021). Effective Police Investigative Practices: An Evidence-assessment of the research. Policing: An International Journal. 2(1),1-25
Richardson, R., Schultz, J. M., & Crawford, K. (2019). Dirty data, bad predictions: How civil rights violations impact police data, predictive policing systems, and justice. NYUL Rev. Online, 94, 15.
Robinson, P. H., Seaman, J., & Sarahne, M. (2024). Rethinking the Balance of Interests in Non-Exculpatory Defenses. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 114(1), 1-49.
Shults, F. (2019). Do Police Response Time Matter? Police 1. Retrieved from: https://www.police1.com/community-relations/articles/do-police-response-times-matter-8pDUo0L5OxmerFAb/
Sveiby, K. E. (2001). A knowledge‐based theory of the firm to guide in strategy formulation. Journal of intellectual capital, 2(4), 344-358.
Utami, H. & Alamanos, E. (2023) Resource-Based Theory: A review. In S. Papagiannidis (Ed), TheoryHub Book. Available at https://open.ncl.ac.uk / ISBN: 9781739604400
Verlaan, T., and Ruiter, S. (2021). Determinants and Effects of Police Response Time: a Scoping Literature Review. NSCR, Evidence-based policing group, DE Boelelaan 1077, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Vidal, J.B., & Kirchmaier, T. (2018). The Effect of Police Response Time on Crime Clearance Rates. The Review of Economic Studies. 85 (2), 855-891
Vidal, J.B., & Kirchmaier, T. (2018). The Effect of Police Response Time on Crime Clearance Rates. The Review of Economic Studies. 85 (2), 855-891
Weisburd, D. (2022). Reforming the police through procedural justice training: A multicity randomized trial at crime hot spots, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(2022). DOI:10.1073/pnas.2118780119
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kalla Ibrahim Wario, Dr. George Musumba, PhD, Dr. Benson Gathoni, PhD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
