A major overhaul in the national police service is long overdue if the sector is to have a clean reputation and ultimately gain public trust.
This was the unanimous call by officers of the National Police Service in Kirinyaga county who noted that the sooner a raft of positive reforms are entrenched to streamline the sector, the more efficient police service will be.
The officers drawn from different cadres and ranks amongst them administration police (AP), Kenya police service, Directorate of criminal investigations (DCI), Prisons department and special professionals serving in the sector spoke while presenting their views before the police reform taskforce that visited the county on Wednesday.
They reiterated the need for the government to review the current system as it put in place workable mechanisms that will ultimately offer intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to the entire police work force.
They further called for adequate equipping and modernisation of the works stations in order to align the sector within the current systems capable of curbing complex related crimes.
Police county commander Alfred Ongego told the David Maraga led committee which was chaired by Roselyn Odede of the need to have officers receive adequate remunerations ,promotions ,improve the working facilities and refurbish the structures in which they work and live in .
As a way of retaining and improving family unions, Ongego further called for the review of the transfer policy by way of recommending that officers be dispatched to areas near their spouses.
County deputy commissioner of Prisons Samuel Ruto on his part urged the state to have a continuous review of the system in order to align it with the current model.
He said this would be achieved by adopting relevant courses and adequate efficient equipment necessary to undertake the job .
In bid to decongest prisons, he called for the implementation of the law that grants the commissioner of prisons the power to release inmates three months prior.
As a way of motivating officers, he urged the state to review officers’ promotion after every two years, increase their salaries and allowances , grant adequate leave days and reward their services through the head of state commendations acknowledgements.
He further urged the state to supply the officers with four pairs of uniforms per financial year so that they may have adequate uniforms to change into.
Should an officer die while still serving, Ruto proposed that the officer’s family be compensated a hefty basic salary of up to ten times the number of working years of the departed officer.
Incase s/he sustains injury, declared incapacitated or unfit to continue working in the department, the officers should be offered a gratuity amounting to five times the number of his or her working years.
Faraj Stina, the county’s Administration police commander noted that in the wake of increase in crimes, her department is understaffed and as such recruitment for additional officers is necessary.
She proposed for 300 officers against the current 183 officers serving across the county.
She further urged the state to exempt the disabled officers from paying tax and ensuring that they work in their home counties.
Stina also expressed the need of giving a one month notice prior to effecting transfers of officers.
The DCI department rallied for capacity building on its officers on how to use modern equipment to undertake investigations. They also called for provision of modern gadgets to track criminals.
The sleuths further urged the government to look into their payment and increase their salaries owing to the high cost of living.
On their part, the junior officers decried stagnation in one rank over a long period of time which they noted have caused them financial miseries and lack of professional growth .
They also want foreign rogue characters who have infiltrated the sector and who are continually calling the shots for their own selfish interests be flushed out so as to restore sanity in the sector.
The officers further recommended the creation of a multi-agency team that will solely be entrusted in undertaking recruitment for officers joining the service in order to curb acts of bribery.
In addition they want the national police training colleges to review its courses and adopt a modern curriculum that is relevant to the profession.