The most prosperous economies in the world have a common denominator: peaceful co-existence among their citizens ocassioned by an efficient policxe service.
In all the countries, policeare mandated with maintaining law and order, safeguarding citizens, and ensuring justice, but the level of execution differs in different countries.
The Kenyan police have been regarded as one of the best in Africa, but are yet to reach the efficiency levels of the best in the world, such as the New Scotland Yard, Canadian Police Force, The Police of Netherlands (Royal Marechaussee, The Gendarmerie), Police Force of France, Japanese National Police, US Police Force, Australian Police Force and the Germany Police Force.
In the countries where the aforementioned police forces exist, there has been tremendous development, as they have brought a lot of stability, allowing the government and citizens to focus on development and economic growth.
The presence of a good police force does not mean the absence of crime. Rather, a good police force ensures that crime is handled in the best way possible to suppress the possibility of recurrence.
In Kenya, the police have operated in a pre-colonial code of conduct, guided by over 1,100 pages of standing orders that somehow, do not create a nexus between the modern world and policing.
For instance, while most police forces have modernised their operations through the use of technology, Kenya still lags behind by relying on manual ways of keeping records. For instance, in the US, the police can conduct a background check of a person with the click of a button, since all data is stored digitally. In Kenya, since most reports are stored in physical occurrence books (OBs), a person can commit crimes in different parts without being detected as a serial criminal for years.
Recently, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced that over the next year, all occurrence books will be digitised to ensure all reported incidents can be traced and tamper-proof. This is a timely idea that would make handling of cases easier and transparent. Without a doubt, the idea is long overdue and should be implemented as soon as posbible.
Murkomen also announced a mandatory installation of CCTV surveillance systems in all 1,209 police stations across the country, complete with external backup, within the next two years.
While technological advancements are important, technology is only as good as the user.
A new training curriculum needs to be developed for the police force to make sure they are in sync with modern ways of life, if they are to solve modern crime.
According to Otto Adang, a former lecturer at the Netherlands Police Academy who specialised in Public Order and Hazard Management, a good police officer has to keep learning to be efficient.
“The best police in the world are the police who learn. He wants to learn and continues to learn. That is still my wish. There is still a world to be won,” Adang stated in previous writings.
To the aspect of learning, the government announced that it is implementing a continuous training and development program for all police officers. Training will begin with Officers Commanding Stations (OCSs), who will be required to undergo annual refresher courses aligned with constitutional standards and service expectations.
“I have directed the establishment of Continuous Professional Development Training on all officers, beginning with the OCSs, who shall be required to undertake minimum training annually on set constitutional standards of the national police service as shall be developed in the curriculum,” Murkomen stated.
In fact, the training should not just be local. The country needs to keep abreast with the rest of the world by benchmarking with the best forces in the world.
Other reforms announced by the government, which I deem timely, include regular audits and performance evaluations across the police service, which will be conducted in partnership with civil society organisations, religious leaders, and other stakeholders, with the goal of identifying gaps, rewarding excellence, and promoting integrity within the force.
It is also commendable that the government has directed that every police station should adopt and implement community policing models to bridge the gap between law enforcement and residents by encouraging collaboration and trust-building. Time has come for the “enemity” between residents and the police to end.
Although the reforms announced by the government are not exhaustive, it is still a step towards the right direction, which, if sustained, will create a new face of the police service.
Francis Muli
Francis Muli is a passionate digital journalist with over seven years of experience in crafting compelling stories across various platforms. His major focus is in business, politics and current affairs. He brings a keen eye for detail and a commitment to uncovering the truth.
He has contributed to leading publications across the country.
When not chasing stories, you can find Muli exploring new technologies, attending local events, or reading fiction.
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