The Roles of OSBP in Enhancing Collaboration Among the Security Agencies to Combat Crime at the Busia Border, Kenya

One of the ways that the governments have attempted to deal with the menace of cross border crimes, is by the establishment of OSBP across their borders. One-stop border system has brought the potential to afford the required collaboration and consulting among the customs, immigration and security agencies to inspect goods, persons and vehicles, thereby combating cross border crimes. Therefore, the need to understand the roles of OSBP in enhancing collaboration among security agencies to combat crime at Busia border, Kenya. Routine activity and institutional theories were used. A descriptive survey design to was adopted and carried out with the target population of police officers, customs and immigration officers. Stratified purposive sampling technique was applied: identifying the major categories of the respondents based on their roles and purposive sampling to select the respondents based on their roles. There were a sample of 64 respondents distributed amongst the various clusters. Data collecting instruments were questionnaire and one-on-one interview. The pilot study was at Namanga border. Both the quantitative approach for numerical data and the qualitative approach for themes was used to analyze the data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. While the numerical data was presented using summary statistics such as proportions, averages and the means, also visual representations like the pie charts. The study found six roles of OSBP in enhancing collaboration among security agencies: co-location of multiple agencies in a single physical facility to foster daily interaction and immediate consultation, coordinated joint inspections and response to security incidents, harmonization of standard operating procedures (SOPs) reducing procedural conflicts between agencies, joint platforms risk management facilitating real-time information sharing, joint multi-agency training & capacity building programs to allow agencies to develop a common set of mindsets, fostering a culture of mutual trust by breaking down territorial mindsets reducing inter-agency rivalry. The study concluded: the One-Stop Border Post has significantly improved inter-agency collaboration by integrating operations, enhancing information sharing and increasing efficiency in combating cross-border crimes, it also found that infrastructural challenges, limited joint training and cultural resistance among officers hinder the full realization of its effectiveness. The study recommended: policymakers should ensure sustained funding for joint training across all ranks and upgrade resilient infrastructure to strengthen inter-agency collaboration, mandatory onboarding programs, trust-building initiatives and domestication of border branding to address existing gaps and enhance the effectiveness of the OSBP.