- The drive will also enhance the police complaints system and civilian review of law enforcement officers.
- The exercise is moving on smoothly and that they have trained most personnel on how to handle it.
The government has digitised the police Occurrence Book (OB) as part of its transition to incorporate over 5,000 services online.
So far, 76 police stations in and around Nairobi have had their OBs digitised in the plans.
Deputy Inspector General of Administration Police Noor Gabow told President William Ruto they plan to roll out the exercise to other parts of the country to ease reporting and recording of crimes and do away with manipulation cases at police stations.
He said the exercise is moving on smoothly and that they have trained most personnel on how to handle it.
“This will guarantee transparency and accountability in police operations at the station level. The reports entered will be subject to monitoring by ward, county and regional commanders, the Inspector General and other top commanders,” he said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the public has been raising concerns about the disappearance of files at police stations, hence the digital OBs will help to keep tabs on government records.
"The police OB has also been digitised, a move that will facilitate more efficient and real-time reporting of crimes and security incidents in the country," he said.
"The digital OB was conceptualised to eliminate manipulation and disappearance of case records since complaints, statements, and details of criminal activities made at police stations will be uneditable."
He said this after the unveiling of digital government services dubbed Gava Mkononi at the KICC on Friday by Ruto.
The transition to digital services is meant to ease access to online services, with Kindiki’s Interior docket including four services with an ultimate goal of eliminating corruption by cutting out physical interactions and brokers.
In line with enhancing accountability to police officers, the ministry will also incorporate a police complaints system and civilian review of law enforcement officers on the Gava Mkononi platform.
Citizens can use the platform to file complaints against any officer to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, while at the same time, the State agency can post the progress of investigations.
"The digitisation drive will also enhance the police complaints system and civilian review of law enforcement officers," Kindiki said.
"Any member of the public can file a complaint against police to the Ipoa, with the authority expected to post the progress of investigations into the deaths and injuries caused by the officers online."
Kindiki said they are also working to include the processing of good conduct by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
"Progressive strides are being taken towards enhancing the processing of police clearance, with several capacity adjustment measures targeted at streamlining and expediting the issuance of the certificates by the DCI," Kindiki said.
The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse has also included its services on the platform where one can access licenses for the importation and exportation of alcoholic drinks online.
Rehabilitation centres will also be accredited by the authority digitally, with those struggling with addiction also expected to request virtual and in-person training through the same platform.
In 2017, the National Police Service was urged to discard the physical OB that involved the manual recording of crime-related incidents at their stations.