Influence Of Prison Care On Drug Abuse Among Prison Inmates: A Case Of Kangeta Prison, Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Drugs and substance abuse problem affects the moral fabric of societies all over the world. These drugs find their way into prison institutions globally. Kenyan prisons are also affected by the drug and substance abuse menace. Comprehensive problem analysis had not been done in order to inform effective measures and policies addressing the problem of drug and substance abuse. This study sought to fill this gap by assessing the influence of prison care programs on drug abuse among the prisoners of Kangeta Prison. Thisstudy adopted a sequential explanatory method of research design. Kangeta Prison in Meru County, Kenya was chosen by the researcher purposively due to high rate of recidivism and increase in drug trafficking offenses in the area. The target population and the accessible population of Kangeta prison were 523 respondents which included both inmates and prison stakeholders. From this population, a sample size of 120 inmates was selected using simple random sampling technique. This sample was used for collecting quantitative data. Purposive sampling technique was also used to draw only six individuals from the stakeholders’ population for collecting the qualitative data. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the inmates and interview schedules were used to collect data from the stakeholders. The validity of the instruments was checked with the help of experts in this field of social sciences. To test the reliability of the questionnaires, a pilot study was carried out using 12 respondents from Meru Prison in Meru County, Kenya which is a neighbouring prison. The analysis of the pilot data produced a Cronbach alpha value of 0.910 which attained the recommended level of equal to or above 0.70. The quantitative data was analysed by use of percentages, means, and correlations using Spearman Correlation coefficient with the aid of Excel and SPSS software. On the qualitative data, thematic content analysis was used by the help of NVIVO Software Version 14. To facilitate data collection, permits from relevant bodies such as Tharaka University Ethics Committee, NACOSTI, and Correctional Department were obtained by the researcher before actual data collection. The relationship between the variable was measured using spearman coefficient where prison care produced a coefficient of 0.642. This positive correlation indicated that there is a strong relationship between the variables. The study added more academic knowledge to the existing one, informed government on prison reviews and recommendations