Police retrain officers to fight cyber

Other special crime units that are barely functioning include the Homicide and Airwing police units. The former unit, charged with solving murder cases, has its officers deployed to various police stations.

The unit has since been disbanded and homicide cases are now being handled by officers in charge of crime in police stations.

But Mr Kiraithe said the move was designed to decentralise services and bring them closer to the public. “It was designed to ensure that each station across the country had an expert in solving murder cases unlike in the past when all experts were based in Nairobi,” he said.

Mr Kiraithe added that the previous arrangement was inefficient and costly. “For instance, upon occurrence of a murder in Isiolo, an officer had to leave Nairobi to pursue it. The officer had to be paid transport, accommodation and other upkeep allowances while at the new station.”

Multiple murder cases

The spokesman also explained that an officer would often be assigned to cover multiple murder cases that occurred miles apart, like in Isiolo and Tana River.

But police sources who cannot be quoted because they are not authorised to speak on behalf of the force maintain the move was counter-productive.

Sources privy to police operations also claim that the Police Air Wing Unit, which is based at the Wilson Airport, is floundering. It is presently headed by an officer of the rank of Senior Superintendent after Mr Gilbert Gitonga, who was an assistant police commissioner, resigned three weeks ago.

Air Wing officers fly in choppers to offer aerial support to their colleagues on the ground. Aerial night patrols of the city are currently grounded after they were resumed in September last year.

They had also been grounded two-and-half years earlier so that the helicopters could be refurbished. However, Mr Kiraithe said plans were at an advanced stage to have the aerial night patrols resumed.

The Sunday Nation also learnt that the police have hired the services of two military officers of the rank of major and sent them to Russia to acquaint themselves with operations of the Russian-made police helicopters.