Civilian oversight of the police: The case of Kenya
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X19860727 |
| Author | Kempe Ronald Hope |
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Civilian oversight of the
police: The case of Kenya
Kempe Ronald Hope, Sr
Abstract
Although more and more countries acro ss the globe are movi ng toward indepe ndent
civilian oversight of their police, that is not the case in Africa, where only Kenya and
South Africa have followed that route. This work offers an analytical review and
assessment case study of the practice of civilian oversight of the police and its appli-
cation in Kenya. It quantitatively evaluates the performance of civilian oversight, set
against the practice of civilian oversight of the police, and drawing heavily also on the
background and field experience of the author, who served in Kenya in various policy
adviser capacities.
Keywords
Civilian oversight, police, Kenya, independent policing oversight authority
Introduction
Civilian oversight of the police has come into vogue across the globe as a preferred
approach to hold the police accountable on behalf of the public or civilian population. As
Kessing (2018) has observed, although in most countries members of the public can file a
complaint over police misconduct directly with the police or with the public prosecutor
or the Attorney General’s office (who often, in turn, have a close working relationship
with the police), that may be a necessary requirement but it is an insufficient condition in
the quest for natural justice and police accountability. Consequently, there are several
reasons for establishing an independent police oversight body but primary among them
are fear of reprisal against complainants and the need to ensure police accountability
through impartial, prompt, unbiased, accountable, and non-corrupt handling of
Corresponding author:
Kempe Ronald Hope, Sr , Development Practi ce International (DP I), PO BOX 30002, Oakvil le, Ontario
L6H 7L8, Canada.
Email: hopekr@dpiintl.ca
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2020, Vol. 93(3) 202–228
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0032258X19860727
journals.sagepub.com/home/pjx
complaints. The advent of civilian oversight of the police signalled that police services
had lost their monopoly to determine whether they were treating citizens in the appro-
priate manner and being held accountable in that regard.
This work offers an analytical review and assessment case study of the practice of
civilian oversight of the police and its application in Kenya since the coming into force
of the country’s independent oversight authority. It quantitatively evaluates the perfor-
mance of that institution in relationship to its functions and set against the practice of
civilian oversight of the police. In that respect, it also draws heavily on the background,
field experience and observations of the author, who served in Kenya in various advisory
capacities during the current decade.
Civilian oversight of the police: Conceptual context
Civilian oversight of a police service – sometimes referred to as citizen oversight, citizen
review, external review, external oversight or civilian review – entails the scrutiny of the
police by a citizen/civilian group to ensure the police act within the law, use resources
efficiently, and fulfill their mandates with integrity, discipline, accountability, transpar-
ency, independence and professionalism. Civilian oversight of the police can be accom-
plished through an agency or procedures that involve participation by persons – who are
not sworn police officers (civilians/citizens) – in the review of public complaints against
the police and/or other allegations of misconduct by police officers (De Angelis et al.,
2016a; Hope, 2019a; Walker, 2001).
From a more general perspective, civilian oversight of police just means the oversight
of police activities by people who aren’t active members of either the police that they are
overseeing or any other police service. It involves a network of multiple checks and
balances on the police by civilians to maintain a set of standards primarily geared to
preventing and/or investigating and remedying misconduct and enhancing police
accountability, integrity, transparency and independence. It can also be regarded as a
public good to the extent it provides a way in which the police may reinforce and
rationalise their public function as protectors of democracy (Hryniewicz, 2011; Miller
and Merrick, 2002).
Moreover, civilian oversight promotes the principles of accountability, transparency,
as well as independence in policing because the powers given to police to protect, such as
the ability to arrest, detain and use force, are significantly different than for any other
profession, including the impact on people’s lives when they are misused (Bourke, n.d.;
Diaz, 2009; Wentkowska, 2016). Consequently, civilian oversight of policing also needs
to be seen as consistent with democratic principles, given the sign ificant power the
police have over citizens and the fact that it is the latter who suffer the consequences
of the former’s conduct (Hope, 2019a; Wentkowska, 2016).
Through civilian oversight of the police, a platf orm is provided tha t offers access to
all citizens vis-a`-vis any concerns they may have about police behaviour. It (civilian
oversight) is therefore becoming popular around the world becau se it satisfies a socie-
tal need (Diaz, 2009). Where the police investigate themselves, such investigations are
often perceived as biased and illegitimate (Clarke, 2009). In fact, the need for civilian
oversight is, in part, further justified due to the fact that internal complaints systems for
Hope 203
To continue reading
Request your trial