EFFECTS OF OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS ON PERFORMANCE OF POLICE OFFICERS IN UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA

protecting property, and providing security. Police officers perform best when they have a high degree of psychological well-being at work, which leads to competence in dealing with operational challenges. According to the National Police Service's annual police crime trends report for the year ending 2019, there was an increase in criminal acts such as murder, rape, and robbery in Kenya. The same survey revealed a declining trend in police officer male, which is a crucial indicator of poor effectiveness in reducing these crimes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of occupational hazards on the performance of police officers in Uasin Gishu County Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives; to determine the effect of occupational hazards on the performance of police officers; to investigate the effect of family life on the performance of police officers and to examine the influence of social relations on the performance of police officers. The study area was within the jurisdictions of County Police Headquarters and police stations in Uasin Gishu County. The study was anchored on the Social Exchange Theory by George Homans and Psychoanalytic They by Sigmund Freud. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population for Theory study was 2,225 people out of which a sample of 327 respondents. The study employed purposeful, stratified, and simple random sampling approaches to select respondents. Primary data was collected from respondents in the study utilizing questionnaires and interview guides. Reports and publications were used to gather secondary data. A pilot study was undertaken among police officers at Nandi County Police Headquarters. Validity of data collection instruments was ascertained using expert opinion while reliability was ascertained using the test-retest technique where Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability as computed and a coefficient of 0.793. To reach the study's goals, the researchers used both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The quantitative data were analyzed and presented in the form of tables, frequencies, and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis and presented as observations and discussions alongside quantitative data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.0 for windows was used. The study findings revealed that there was a significant but negative relationship between occupational hazards and performance of police officers (r=-0.679: P