Influence of personnel reforms on performance in law enforcement among directorate of criminal investigations officers in Kenya

In Kenya, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has challenges of balancing police reforms, their duties and delivering on their mandate as expected. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the influence of personnel reforms on performance in law enforcement among DCI officers in Kenya based on Peelian Principles. Mixed-method approach involving descriptive survey with an ethnographic method was used whereby quantitative data was collected using structured questionnaires and the qualitative data obtained using open-ended interview guides and focus group discussions. A sample of 384 participants comprising of 230 DCI officers and 154 stakeholders drawn from the civil society staff and Nyumba kumi leaders was selected using multistage sampling, cluster and stratified techniques. Data was collected using Likert-scale questionnaires, open-ended interview guides as well as focus group discussion. Data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods, with the former comprising both descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative analysis was carried out using thematic content analysis. From the study, it emerged that personnel reforms of the police in Kenya focused on facilities, remuneration, and deployment. Improvement of the DCI performance was attributed to continuous fair recruitment reforms. Nevertheless, perceptions of welfare benefits, particularly health insurance as well as retirement and deployment, were inconsistent and hence created uncertainty. Such ambiguities seem to undermine officer performance, despite further personnel reforms. For better DCI effectiveness, government should make facilities across the country fairly accessible, invest in digital tools to address new crimes, and institutionalize frequent maintenance checks. At the same time, competitive, inclusive pay and open, skill-based allocation based on officer advice and with trained supervisors are important for morale, trust and performance.