Kenya Prisons Service case studies

Kenya Prisons Service · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The Kenya Prisons Service is a department in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, and its recruitment examination is the entry assessment used to screen candidates for uniformed service. The Service states its purpose plainly: it contributes to public safety and security through safe custody of all persons lawfully committed to prison facilities and by facilitating rehabilitation of custodial sentenced offenders for community reintegration. The Kenya Prisons Service case studies are 5 cases and about 4,180 words.

The Knife in Block C: Force, Negotiation and the Incident Log

At a medium-security station with an authorised capacity of 600 and a current population of 1,020, Block C houses 210 men in eight dormitories. At 06:40, during the morning unlock, a convicted inmate serving four years for robbery with violence refuses to be counted and holds a kitchen knife to the throat of another inmate.

939 words, about 5 min 2

Eighty-Four Officers, Nine on Nights and a Phone Under a Bunk

A station with an authorised establishment of 138 officers has 84 in post. Twenty-two are on leave, sick or on a course, leaving 62 for duty.

873 words, about 4 min 3

1,180 in a 450-Bed Prison: Building a Defensible Decongestion Plan

A prison built for 450 holds 1,180 inmates, of whom 61% are on remand. Of the remand population, 128 have been in custody for more than 12 months without trial; 34 have been granted bail but remain inside because they cannot raise surety of between KSh 20,000 and KSh 50,000; 22 are first offenders aged 18 to 20; and nine are women with children under four.

775 words, about 4 min 4

Six Coughs in Dormitory Four: Infection Control and the Missing Insulin

A male prison holds 900 inmates. Medical staffing is two clinical officers and one nurse; there is no resident doctor, and the sub-county ambulance is unavailable three days a week.

763 words, about 4 min 5

After the Search: A Bruised Back, a Rusted Complaint Box and a Phone Call from a Newspaper

A snap search of Wing A recovers 42 mobile phones and 15 improvised knives from 160 cells. During the search, inmates are made to strip and squat in the corridor for 40 minutes.

830 words, about 4 min