In contexts of high insecurity and mistrust in the police, how and why do local residents still choose to collaborate with the police, and what is the role of community policing in such considerations? Research on policing in Africa has emphasized the structural and macropolitical barriers to effective police reform, including institutionalized cultures of impunity and corruption. Less attention, however, has been paid to the contextual and relational dynamics that shape police-community collaboration. We argue that a relational perspective, which centres local residents’ interactions with police and community policing structures, provides novel insights into the challenges of policing reforms. This perspective also demonstrates how contingent and incremental trust can be built in very challenging circumstances. We study these dynamics in Karagita and Kaptembwo, two low-income urban settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya, that have experienced violent crime and repeated electoral violence. Despite considerable challenges of crime, police misconduct, and political interference in these settlements, our findings point to how positive everyday interaction and community policing structures can contribute to incremental improvements in police-community relationships. In contrast to existing work on African policing that primarily highlights the challenges of police reform, this study offers insights into when reform has the potential to be effective.

中文翻译：

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肯尼亚的警务和公民信任：社区警务如何塑造当地的信任建设和协作


在高度不安全和对警察不信任的情况下，当地居民如何以及为什么仍然选择与警察合作，社区警务在这种考虑中扮演什么角色？对非洲警务的研究强调了有效警察改革的结构性和宏观政治障碍，包括有罪不罚和腐败的制度化文化。然而，人们对塑造警察与社区合作的背景和关系动态的关注较少。我们认为，以当地居民与警察和社区警务结构互动为中心的关系视角，为警务改革的挑战提供了新颖的见解。这一观点还展示了如何在极具挑战性的环境中建立偶然的和增量的信任。我们研究了肯尼亚纳库鲁县两个低收入城市住区卡拉吉塔和卡普特姆沃的这些动态，这两个住区经历了暴力犯罪和反复发生的选举暴力。尽管这些定居点面临着犯罪、警察不当行为和政治干预的巨大挑战，但我们的研究结果表明，积极的日常互动和社区警务结构如何有助于逐步改善警察与社区的关系。与主要强调警察改革挑战的现有非洲警务工作相比，这项研究提供了有关改革何时有可能有效的见解。