• The salary adjustments are part of a broader reform agenda aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and morale of the police force.
• Omollo also said starting September 2024, officers within the Kenya Prisons Service and the National Youth Service (NYS) will also begin receiving the increased pay.
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Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has announced that the government has implemented a salary increase for police officers, effective July 1, 2024.
This move is a key component of the proposed reforms outlined in the task force report led by retired Chief Justice David Maraga.
The salary adjustments are part of a broader reform agenda aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and morale of the police force.
"The Taskforce recommended 40 per cent pay increase for the officers. The payment will be made in three phases. In the first phase, an increase of 20 per cent has already been implemented effective July 1, 2024 for constables, with the percentage gradually decreasing for higher ranks,"he said.
In addition, he said starting next month, September 2024, officers within the Kenya Prisons Service and the National Youth Service (NYS) will also begin receiving the increased pay.
The PS said the reform process is set to take four years, from 2024 to 2028, guided by a strategic framework that focuses on four core areas that are leadership within the three services, oversight and accountability, institutional capacity development and human resource management, and operational preparedness and logistical capability.
"To ensure seamless implementation of the reforms, we have established Technical Committees on Development of the Legal and Policy Frameworks covering the three Services that have also been officially gazetted," he said.
The Terms of Reference of these technical committees, he said, include proposing amendments to key laws and policies governing the security sector. These are the National Police Service (Amendment) Bill, the National Police Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Amendment) Bill.
The National Correctional Services Policy and the Kenya Correctional Services Bill are also open for public participation.
Omollo said in line with the reforms, the policing technical working group is also developing the National Forensic Laboratory Bill as well as reviewing the police training policy, curriculum, human resource, career progression guidelines and police welfare management frameworks.
He added that reform units have been established across the National Police Service, the Kenya Prisons Service, and the National Youth Service to coordinate the implementation of the reforms.
"A dedicated police reform unit is now operational within the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, hosted by the Directorate of Reforms at the NPS,"he said.
Similarly, the KPS has set up a new directorate to oversee prison reforms, while the NYS has formed a reform committee for this purpose.
"We reaffirm our commitment to fully implementing these reforms which are essential for strengthening the country’s security sector and enhancing service delivery to all Kenyans."