- Some 97 officers were linked to crime in 2021, the survey says, with 85 being male and 12 being women police officers.
- In 2022, 79 officers —58 male and 21 female—were linked to crime.
The number of police officers engaging in crime almost doubled last year, compounding the problem of insecurity experienced in the year complete with armed mugging and robbers using motorbike to speed away.
The 2024 economic survey shows that the numbers of cops engaging in crime shot up remarkably between 2022 and 2023 after a brief period of a low numbers.
The statistics show 2019 saw the highest number of cops engaging in crime, with 179 officers, including 131 male and 48 female cops, linked to the incidents. The numbers went down to 79 in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, including 67 male and 12 female officers.
Some 97 officers were linked to crime in 2021, the survey says, with 85 being male and 12 being women police officers.
In 2022, 79 officers —58 male and 21 female—were linked to crime.
Last year, the number was 117, with 85 male and 32 female officers linked to the crime.
Some of the crimes officers are alleged to engage in range from human trafficking to actively engaging in violent criminal activities or loaning out their firearms to criminal gangs.
In other cases, the officers allegedly work in cahoot with criminal suspects by, for example, knowingly turning a blind eye as armed criminal actors terrorise citizens, thereby enabling or acting as accomplices.
The usual refrain from the police service is that any rogue cop is subjected to the law just like anybody else.
The survey shows crime trends are generally soaring out of control, with Nairobi and Kiambu counties experiencing the highest number of crimes reported in 2023.
Nairobi had 11,108 cases reported, excluding those reported at Railways Police and the Kenya Airport Police Unit, while Kiambu had 9,532 cases.
Railways and KAPU had 123 and 92 cases reported in 2023.
Crime in the capital increased by over 2,596 cases compared to 2022. In the same period, crime in Kiambu rose by 1,688 cases.
Out of the 11,108 cases reported in Nairobi, 8,942 were committed by men and women only accounted for 2,167.
For the number from Kiambu county, men accounted for 6,255 while females were at 3,230.
In the build up to the crime surge in the country in late 2022, Police boss Japheth Koome gave a shoot to kill order to police officers, allowing them to fatally neutralise suspected criminals caught in the act.
International Justice Mission says that its data suggest that “in Kenya, police are often feared for their reputation of crime and violence against the most vulnerable in their communities.”
“One in three Kenyans,” the lobby claims, “have experienced police abuse or harassment.”
The lobby that specialises in documenting alleged cases of police use of excessive force in their work and brutalising citizens, says that “over 500 killings by police in Kenya have been documented between 2019 and 2021.”
Meru county comes at a distant third with 6,037 crimes reported nationally, with a slight increase of over 330 cases compared to 2022.
Here, 4,164 cases were males while 1,854 cases involved females.
Nakuru recorded the fourth highest cases at 5,072 as Machakos closed the top five with 4,780 cases.
The 2024 Economic survey shows that crimes reported in Kenya increased by at least 13 per cent.
This, according to the survey, brought the total reported crimes to 104,842, compared to 2022.
The survey shows that in the same period, the prison population increased by over 78,482 to 248,061 in 2023. In 2022, the numbers stood at 169,579.
On reported crime, Murang'a recorded 3,660 cases, Bungoma (3,419), Kisii (3,133), Mombasa (2,671) Kitui (2,598) Trans Nzoia (2,412) Nyeri (2,400) Kisumu (2,380) Kilifi (2,342) and Uasin Gishu (2,325).
Makueni had 2,316, Kajiado (2,240), Kakamega (2,223), Migori (1,938), Embu (1,935), Kirinyaga (1,884), Homa Bay (1,870), Kericho (1,856), Nyandarua (1,720), Bomet (1,719), Busia (1,653), Narok (1,483), Vihiga (1,444), Nyamira (1,431) and Siaya (1,375).
Nandi had 1,337 cases, Tharaka Nithi (1,291), Laikipia (1,140), Taita Taveta (1,125), Kwale (1,094), Turkana (1,014), Baringo (1,004), Isiolo (829), Elgeyo Marakwet (781), Garissa (666), West Pokot (660), Marsabit (637), Tana River (511), Samburu (438), Lamu (433), Wajir (382), and Mandera (329).