Kenya Police

The Kenya Police is a national body in charge of law enforcement in the East Africa State of Kenya. While organised at a national level, each arm reports to a Provincial police authority, which in turn divides its force by local Police Divisions, headquartered at local police stations. All these element report to a National Kenya Police Headquarters in Nairobi, and several specialist elements, such as the Kenya Police College, are commanded directly from here. An Administration Police service is commanded through a hierarchy separate from that of the National Kenya Police. [1]

Contents

Current structure

The current Kenyan police force, which reports to the Commissioner of Police, is a department of Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security[2], one of the two ministries in the Office of the President. As of October 2003 the force fielded about 35,000 officers[3] and is divided into eleven service and one training formations, who work in divisions in each of the eight provinces. Each province is headed by a Provincial Police Officer (PPO); each province is further divided into police divisions headed by an Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) normally in the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). The police divisions are divided into police stations headed by an Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS).

National Kenya Police Headquarters is located at Vigilance House on Harambee Avenue in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD). The commissioner is responsible for all administrative and personnel matters affecting the force. The Kenya Police is governed by the force standing orders which establishes the formation of various units and their scope of work.

Every unit of the Kenya Police Force now undergoes specialised officer corps training from world class experts. Among the international police training associations that have been given this ardous task, the most notable are the World Police Academy in Canada and the Dallas Police Department in USA. The World Police Academy is a premier police training institution that is also a global security and police think tank. It offers democracies in developing economies the opportunity to introduce Canadian policing standards into the senior ranks of their police forces[4]. Getting this academy to undertake this training was achieved by the progressive thinking of current Kenyan police chiefs. The Dallas Police Department has a recognisable brand of policing and their systems are respected in many areas of the USA. Securing the training from such renowned training institutions is a positive approach for the future security of Kenya.

Current Formations

The present police commissioner is Mr Mathew Kirai Iteere who is also the former General Service Unit (GSU) commandant[5]. He is deputised by the Principal Deputy Police Commissioner, Mr Francis Okonya. Mr Julius Ndegwa is the Director of Police Operations. The Kenya Police is divided into the following formations[6]; the unit commandants/directors generally hold the rank of Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police (S/DCP) I or II, or Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (S/ACP):

  1. General Service Unit (GSU): both headquarters and training school are in Nairobi; the Commandant is Mr William Atschwenje Saiya
  2. Anti Stock Theft Unit Unit: it is situated at Gilgil in Naivasha district, 117km from Nairobi
  3. Criminal Investigation Department (CID): it is headquartered in Karura, Nairobi. In August 2010 Mr Ndegwa Muhoro was appointed CID Director, replacing Mr Simon Karanja Gatiba who died of breathing complications in May 2010[7]
  4. Traffic Police Department: headed by Mr. Aggrey J. Adoli with main offices in Nairobi
  5. Kenya Police College: located in Kiganjo; commanding officer is Mr Peter Kavila
  6. Kenya Police Air-Wing: has its offices in Nairobi, led by Mr Gilbert Gitonga Hezekiel
  7. Kenya Railways Police: commanded in Nairobi by Mr Joseph M. Oletito
  8. Kenya Police Dog Unit: unit chief is Dr (Mr) Hamisi Salim Massa in Nairobi
  9. Tourism Police Unit: led by Ms Jacinta Kinyua with offices in Nairobi
  10. Kenya Airports Police Unit: headed by Ms Beatrice Nduta Kihara with offices in Nairobi and three divisions (Nairobi, Eldoret, Moi airports)
  11. Maritime Police Unit: headquartered at the Kilindini Port in Mombasa, commanded by Mr Stanley Lenamai
  12. Diplomatic Police Unit: Mr Allan Sangaro leads the unit from the Nairobi offices

Societal impact

Following a history of human rights abuses by the Kenya Police, efforts are being made to reform the force.[8] Kenyan policemen are poorly paid and have to make use with archaic housing that has not been expanded or renovated since the 1970s. This has made them very susceptible to corruption and crime. Extortion and bribery are not unknown practices and the Kenyan people rank the police among the most corrupt bodies in the country.[9][10] In July 2010 the Minister, Prof. George Saitoti, announced a 28% pay increase for junior officers and a 25% pay increase for senior officers. This reform means that the most junior officer, a Police Constable, shall receive Ksh 21,000/month including allowances.[11] [12]

Other Police Bodies in Kenya

The Administration Police (AP) is a separate department of the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security and is located in Nairobi. The PC Chapter 63 of the (former) Laws of Kenya states that the Police Force includes the force defined in section 2 of the Police Act as well as the Administration Police Force established under the Administration Police Act; Chapter 75 Section 2 states that the term Police officer means either/both a Police officer and/or an Administration Police officer. The Administration Police force is headed by Mr Kinuthia Mbugua[13].

Police Ranks

The Kenya Police wear the following badges of rank on the shoulders (The Commissioner of Police - Inspector of Police) and sleeve (Senior Sergeant - Corporal) of their uniform to denote their rank. The order of Kenya Police ranks is as follows:

Commissioners

The following officers have to date served in the capacity of Commissioner of Police[14]:

Upcoming Changes

Following the promulgation of the new Constitution of Kenya on 27 August 2010, as laid down in Chapter 17 Part 4 of the said document, the Kenyan police forces shall undergo a series of reforms. Hence called The Kenya Police Service, it shall be headed by an Inspector-General and the division of its functions shall be organized to take into account the devolved structure of government in Kenya.

See also

References

  1. ^ "(2010) Crime and Development in Kenya". http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/278/crime-and-development-in-kenya-emerging-trends-and-the-transnational-implications-of-political-economic-and-social-instability. 
  2. ^ "Ministry Departments". Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security. http://www.provincialadministration.go.ke/detail.php?op=2002. 
  3. ^ "Kenya: The police service, including chain of command, officer ranks, badge identification, police headquarters and stations". UNHCHR. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,QUERYRESPONSE,KEN,456d621e2,403dd1fcc,0.html. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
  4. ^ "Welcome to World Police Academy". World Police Academy. http://www.worldpoliceacademy.ca. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
  5. ^ a b c Daily Nation, September 8, 2009: Kibaki moves Ali, names new Kenya police boss
  6. ^ "Kenya Police Formation". Kenya Police. http://www.kenyapolice.go.ke/Formations.asp. 
  7. ^ Kibaki names new CID boss "Kibaki names new CID boss". Daily Nation. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kibaki%20names%20new%20CID%20boss%20/-/1056/997658/-/e37r0e/-/index.html Kibaki names new CID boss. 
  8. ^ kenyapolice.go.ke
  9. ^ Survey: Police are most corrupt in Kenya. United Press International. July 18, 2008
  10. ^ Kenya police still most corrupt. BBC News. 21 August 2007.
  11. ^ Kenya police get pay raise "Kenya police get pay raise". Daily Nation. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenya%20police%20get%20pay%20raise/-/1056/953626/-/le0fuez/-/index.html Kenya police get pay raise. 
  12. ^ "Crime and Development in Kenya". http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/278/crime-and-development-in-kenya-emerging-trends-and-the-transnational-implications-of-political-economic-and-social-instability. 
  13. ^ "Administration Police Home Page". The Administration Police. http://www.administrationpolice.go.ke. 
  14. ^ "Former Commissioners". Kenya Police. http://www.kenyapolice.go.ke/pictorial.asp. 
  15. ^ a b Daily Nation website, December 30, 2008: Former police chief Nyaseda dies in hospital

Sources

  1. World Police Encyclopedia, ed. by Dilip K. Das & Michael Palmiotto published by Taylor & Francis. 2004,
  2. World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems,second edition, Gale., 2006
  3. Sullivan, Larry E. Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005.

External links

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