| dc.description.abstract | The provision of security remains a fundamental challenge in the world today owing to emerging threats that range from terrorism, organized urban crime and Kenya has not been spared from these. The demand for security has gone up beyond what the state can provide; especially now that terrorism attacks are frequent more than never before. One of the key actors in security provision is the private security guards. Guards are involved in various duties: guarding, supervision, surveillance, patrols and responding to emergency situations. While guarding, they spend much of their working day patrolling their workplace, allowing and or denying access to and monitoring around their premises. Majority of guards with Kenya’s private security firms work for long hours a day, are demotivated due to low pay and delays in payment and have no adequate equipment to carry out their duties. These conditions may not be conducive for effective service delivery. As such this study comprehensively assessed the effects of working conditions of private security guard on service delivery with a focus on KK security guards. The study was guided by the following research objectives; to analyze the types of security services provided by KK Company, to establish the types of equipment used by KK security guards to perform their duties, to assess the training undertaken by KK guards and to establish the average monthly pay per KK guard and its influence on service delivery. Case study research design was used. Researcher used both purposive and simple random sampling to arrive at a sample size of 350 which was distributed as follows from 300 guards and 50 clients within Embakasi Sub County. Sampling was done based on 10 percent of the study population of 3000 guards while purposive sampling was used for data collection from 50 clients out of 500 clients in Embakasi Sub County. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Data was analysed quantitatively with the help of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Rational choice theory and Herzberg’s Motivational Hygiene theories informed the study.The validity and reliability of research instruments, data collection process, data analysis and legal and ethical considerations were reviewed. According to the study, it was found out that physical security was the most offered type of service at 40%. It was also established that a good number of KK guards (75%) felt that they do not have adequate equipment to carry out their duties while only 25% felt that they were adequately equipped. KK security undertake initial training for 2 weeks on average, however only 17% acknowledged to have ever received refresher training in the course of their stay at KK security company. Furthermore the study result has shown that majority of guards are paid between Ksh 15,001 – 20,000 and other additional allowances if given is not more than Ksh 1,500. The following recommendations were made after undertaking the study; that KK private security guards training syllabus need to be reviewed to accommodate refresher training. Second, equipment for guarding duties need to be improved to enhance protection of private security guards. The government needs to establish monitoring mechanism to ensure that private security companies comply with the contents of Private Security Regulation act (2016) which comprehensively addresses issues of manning hours, wage and training of private security guards. | en_US |
