Assessment on the influence of top leadership on service delivery in the kenya police service in kitui county

Abstract

The central problem of this study is that despite the government reform efforts in the National police service, performance has continued to worsen with criminal activities increasing by the day. Challenges leading to this miserable service delivery have not been adequately investigated and well understood, hence hindering performance by the security officers who play a critical role in security issues. The study provide the background information to research organizations and scholars to carry out further research in this area and use it as reference material and a basis of identifying research gaps. This research project was therefore an attempt to discuss the influence of internal organizational factors on the service delivery in Kenya police service as an organization with police commands within Kitui County. This paper assessed leadership as the main internal factor that influence service delivery in the Kenya police service in Kitui County. The consideration of the relationship between leadership as the independent variable in this study and service delivery as the dependent variable was sought. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of leadership on service delivery in the Kenya police service in Kitui County. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The researcher adopted stratified random sampling technique which enabled sufficient representation of officers across all police ranks in the service. The target population was police officers working in police commands within Kitui County who are about 460 from which a sample of 138 officers was used to obtain information. Data collection was through the use of questionnaires both structured, unstructured and interview guide. Data analysis was done through the use of SPSS version 22. Data collected was analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that there is a strong influence on service delivery of the police officers attributable to leadership in the police service. The study recommended that government and other concerned stakeholders should adequately improve on leadership styles and embrace the modern ways of leadership. Training and development within the police colleges also need to be improved greatly for improved service delivery as well.