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The Kenya Police Service is a national body in charge of law enforcement in Kenya. It is subordinate to National Police Service which is headed by Inspector General of Police who exercises independent command over the Service. Kenya Police is headed by Deputy Inspector General. Kenya Police is divided into Service Headquarters in Nairobi, Formations, General Duty Commands and Training Institutions.
| Kenya Police Service[1] Polisi wa Kenya Askaris | |
|---|---|
 The Kenya Police patch. | |
 Flag of the Kenya Police | |
| Common name | Kenya Police Karau/Polisi |
| Abbreviation | K. P. S |
| Motto | Utumishi kwa Wote (English: "Service to All") |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1906[2] |
| Dissolved | N/A |
| Employees | approx. 101,000=[3][4][5] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | KEN |
 | |
| Map of Kenya Police Service[6]'s jurisdiction | |
| Size | 581,309 square kilometres (224,445 sq mi) |
| Population | 47,564,000 Kenya |
| Primary governing body | Kenya |
| Secondary governing body | IPOA |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Kenya police service commission |
| Headquarters | Vigilance House, Harambee Ave, Nairobi |
| Police Officers | 80,000 (approx)[3][4] |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | National Police Service |
| Units | List
|
| Counties | Counties of Kenya |
| Facilities | |
| Airbases | Wilson Airport |
| Mil Mi-17, MBB Bo 105 Cessnas | 15 |
| Website | |
| kenyapolice.go.ke | |
Administration Police Service is commanded through a hierarchy separate from that of the Kenya Police[8] For other state security bodies see Law enforcement in Kenya. Recruitment to the police service is done on yearly basis.[9]
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The Kenya police force was established as a British colonial police force in 1907. From the 1887 to 1902 policing was provided by the East Africa Trading Company. After 1902 the Kenya-Uganda Railway introduced their own police units.[10]
In 1906 the Police Ordinance was established to create a new force in 1907, the Nairobi Mounted Police within the jurisdiction of the East Africa Protectorate. The current force's name came into effect in 1920 with the newly created British Kenya Colony.
The colonial force was made up mainly of British and Indian recruits as senior officers and Africans amongst lower ranks.[10]
Following Kenya's independence, the British officers were replaced with local Kenyan members.
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General
Kenya Police is divided into General Duty and Formations. General Duty comprises components with regions being the largest and police patrol bases being the smallest.
Regional Police Commander is in charge of a Region (formerly Provinces), County Police Commander is in charge of Officers in the County, Sub-County Police Commander Superintends Sub-County (previously called District). Officer Commanding Station (OCS) is in charge of a Police Station in a Ward and oversees all its Police Posts and Patrol Bases (Ward Commander).
Formations
The Kenya Police formations/Units[11] are headed by commandants/directors, who hold the rank of Senior Assistant Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG)or Commissioner of Police (CP).
These formations are listed as under:
- General Service Unit (GSU): both headquarters and training school are in Nairobi ; the Commandant is Douglas Kanja.
- Diplomatic Police Unit: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi headquarters.
- Traffic Police Department: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi offices.
- Kenya Police College: It is headed by a Commandant from its headquarters at Kiganjo in Nyeri County.
- Kenya Police Air Wing: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi headquarters.
- Presidential Escort Unit: It is headed by Commandant from its Statehouse Nairobi headquarters.
- Railways Police: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi headquarters.
- Kenya Police Dog Unit: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi headquarters.
- Tourist Police Unit: It is headed by a Commandant from its offices in Old Nairobi Area Provincial Police headquarters in Nairobi.
- Kenya Airports Police Unit: It is headed by a Commandant from its Nairobi headquarters and three divisions (Nairobi, Eldoret, Moi airports).
- Maritime Police Unit: It is headed by a Commanding Officer from its headquarters at Kilindini Harbour in Mombasa .
Police ranks
The Kenya Police wear badges of rank on the shoulders (Inspector-General – Inspector) and sleeve (senior sergeant – constable) of their uniform to denote their rank. In line with the ongoing reforms, the uniforms committee is also working on new insignia for the revised rank structure, which will have to be approved by the National Police Service Commission.[12] The order of Kenya Police ranks is as follows:[13]
- Inspector-General (formerly Commissioner of Police)
- Deputy Inspector-General
- Senior Assistant Inspector-General
- Assistant Inspector-General
- Commissioner of Police
- Senior Superintendent
- Superintendent
- Assistant Superintendent
- Chief Inspector
- Inspector
- Senior Sergeant
- Sergeant
- Corporal
- Constable
Former Kenya Police ranks and Kenya Police – Ranks and Insignia can be found at this reference.[14]
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From 1906 to 1964 the force was headed by British officers. In 2012, the position of Inspector General was introduced to head the newly created National Police Service. The current Inspector General is Japhet Koome who is the fourth holder of the position.
The following officers have to date served in the capacity of Commissioner of Police:[15]
- Bernard Hinga 1964–1978
- Ben Gethi 1978–1982
- Bernard Njinu 1982–1988
- Phillip Kilonzo 1988–1993
- Shedrack Kiruki 1993–1996
- Duncan Wachira 1996–1998
- Philemon Abong’o 1998–2002[16]
- Edwin Nyaseda 2002–2003[16]
- Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali 2004–2009[17]
- Mathew Kirai Iteere 2009–2012
- Grace Kaindi 2013-2015
- Joel Kitili 2015-2018
- Edward N. Mbugua 2018 to date
The following officers have served as Inspector-General:
- David Mwole Kimaiyo 2012–2014[18][19]
- Acting Inspector-General Samuel Arachi Deputy Inpsector General-Administration Police Service 31 December 2014 – 11 March 2015
- Joseph Kipchirchir Boinett 11 March 2015 – March 2019[20]
- Hillary Nzioki Mutyambai 8 April 2019[7]
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Following the promulgation of the new Constitution of Kenya on 27 August 2010, as laid down in Chapter 17 Part 4, the Kenyan police forces is undergoing a series of reforms. Hence called The Kenya Police Service, it is now headed by a Deputy Inspector-General and the division of its functions are organised to take into account the devolved structure of government in Kenya.
In the ongoing changes that started in 2018, police operational command was aligned police with existing administrative boundaries to create a unified command as follows:-
1. Regional Police Commander (RPC)
2. County Police Commander (CPC)
3. Sub County Police Commander (SPC)
4. Officer in charge Police Station ( OCS)
The following positions were therefore abolished:-
1. APS Regional Commander
2. KPS Regional Commander
3. DCI Regional Commander
4. County Coordinating Commander
5. KPS County Commander
6. APS County Commander
7. DCI County Commander
8. APS Sub County Commander
9. DCI Sub County Commander
10. KPS Officer Commanding Police Divisions
11.District Administration Police Commander
Consequently, the number of commanders were reduced from 168 to 56 Commanders.
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The equipment of the Kenya Police and General Service Unit (GSU), a paramilitary wing of the Kenyan Police, comprises:
Aircraft
- 2 Cessna fixed wing aircraft (United States), the latest (2011) being a Cessna 208 Caravan light aircraft
- 1 AS350 B3e Ecureuil helicopter (France) (January 2012), June 2012, crashed, total loss, with 6 fatalities.[21]
- 4 Mil Mi-17 helicopters (Russia)
- 4 Bell 206 helicopters (United States)
- 3 AW139 helicopters (Italy), one of which crashed without fatalities resulting in being written off
- 1 AW119 Koala helicopter (Italy)
Weapons
- G3 Rifle
- AK-47 Rifle
- MP5 Submachine Gun
- Scorpion EVO 3 A1 Submachine gun
- M16 assault rifles
- M4 carbines
- Glock Pistol
- Browning Pistol
- Jericho 94 Pistol
- CZ 75 Pistol
- M79 grenade launchers
- M67 recoilless rifle
Vehicles
- 30 VN-4 Armoured Personnel Carriers (GSU)[22]
- Troop carrying vehicles
- Buses
- Vans
- Patrol cars – 4 x 4
- Water Cannons
- Patrol Cars-saloon
- Surveillance Vehicles 4 × 4 with radio
- Motorcycles
- M/Vs Civil disturbance
- Break downs/ Recovery Vehicles
- Fire Engines
- Water Bowsers
- Fuel Tankers
- Boats
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Following concerns about human right abuses by the Kenya Police, efforts are being made to reform the force.[23] Some Kenyan policemen face challenges with their housing that has not been expanded or renovated since the 1970s. These challenges have resulted to corruption and crime. Extortion and bribery are known practices and the Kenyan people rank the police among the most corrupt bodies in the country.[24][25] In July 2010, the Minister, George Saitoti, announced a 28% pay increase for junior officers and a 25% pay increase for senior officers. This reform means that the most junior officer, a police constable, shall receive KSh.21,000/= per month including allowances.[26][8]
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- Administration Police
- Kenya Defence Forces
- Kenya Coast Guard Service
- Corruption in Kenya
- For other state security bodies see Law enforcement in Kenya
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