Police push for 11,000 vehicles
What you need to know:
- Inspector General asks government to provide housing and better pay to boost officers’ morale
The police need at least 11,000 new vehicles to effectively tackle rising crime, Inspector-General David Kimaiyo has said
The vehicles would be distributed to over 200 police stations.
Police also need at least 40,000 houses to accommodate serving officers and new recruits.
“We cannot effectively discharge our duties without these,” he said during a retreat of the National Assembly’s committee on administration and national security in Mombasa on Wednesday.
He said the service ought to hire 15,000 new officers every year. But there is no accommodation for them. He also said the current ratio of one police officer to 600 citizens was short of the UN recommendation of one police officer to 450 citizens.
Mr Kimaiyo noted that the service needed Sh120 billion for accommodation and other social amenities yet the Treasury allocated it only Sh7 billion.
He called on the government to increase police pay, adding that his officers were overworked and underpaid. “We put in many hours in our work without rest,” he said.
House committee chairman Asman Kamama called for the implementation of police reforms.
He said the curriculum at Kiganjo College should be overhauled to reflect positively on culture change in the police service.
“More efforts need to be done if we are to truly revamp the police service,” he said.
He asked the police to live up to its motto of Utumishi kwa Wote (service to all) by treating taxpayers with respect.
The retreat was attended by CID director Ndegwa Muhoro and chairman of Independent Policing Oversight Authority Macharia Njeru among other security chiefs.
