The Role of Community Policing in Preventing Crimes in Tanzania: A Case Mkuranga District Council
Keywords:
Collaboration and Trust, Community Policing, Crime Prevention, Law Enforcement, Mkuranga District CouncilAbstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of community policing in preventing crimes in Tanzania concerning the Mkuranga District Council. Community policing is a strategy that emphasizes building strong relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. This approach fosters collaboration and trust, encouraging community members to participate in identifying and solving local problems actively. By engaging residents, businesses, and other stakeholders, police can gain valuable insights into the specific issues and concerns of the community. This partnership helps prevent crime by promoting proactive problem-solving rather than reactive responses. Community members are more likely to report suspicious activities and cooperate with police investigations when they feel their concerns are heard and addressed. Additionally, community policing initiatives often include educational programs, neighbourhood watch groups, and youth engagement activities, which can deter criminal behaviour by fostering a sense of shared responsibility and vigilance. Community policing enhanced safety at Mkuranga District Council by creating a cooperative environment where law enforcement and community members work together to prevent crime and improve quality of life. This study used System Theory (ST) and Community Policing Theory advocating for a society to live together in its sub-systems because the failure of one sub-system is the failure of the entire system. The study used a descriptive research design and a sample size of 123 respondents from a target population of 222,921. In addition, the study used probability sampling, where simple random sampling was used for community members, while non-probability sampling, specifically purposive sampling, was used for police officers. In this study, questionnaires were used as tools for data collection. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics analysis. The findings identified specific roles performed by community policing in preventing crimes at Mkuranga District Council. They include foot patrol, where 55 (42%) strongly agreed that it is done, prevention function, where 57 (46%) strongly agreed that it is done, providing public education, where 54 (44%) strongly agreed, coordinating community meetings, where 45 (37%) strongly agreed that it is done. This research concluded that by integrating these roles, community policing creates a collaborative framework where law enforcement and residents work together towards common safety goals, ultimately leading to a more secure and cohesive community. The study recommended the effective implementation of roles played by community policing to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of community policing at Mkuranga District Council.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Lucy Andrew, Faisal Issa

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Darlene K. Mutalemwa, Faisal Issa, Misheck G. Mwashambwa, Determinants, Awareness, and Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccination among Youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania , African Journal of Empirical Research: Vol. 5 No. 1 (2024): Jan-Mar 2024