Police boss Hillary Mutyambai is proposing radical measures to rein in corruption in the service and end drug trade.
Mr Mutyambai wants police roadblocks reduced by half and police stations at ward level put under one command instead of the current set-up where every officer in charge of a section works autonomously.
The new Inspector General (IG), who is just three weeks old on the job, told the Nation in his first media interview that he will go after drug sellers and consumers at the grassroots since barons have now been neutralised.
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Here are excerpts from the interview:
What are the three main issues you want to sort out first as the new IG?
One is how to manage the police in terms of performance. At the end of the day, this country has to be secure.
I would not sit in the office and watch things happening out there. That is the main priority of any police chief, ensuring that Kenya is safe.
Secondly, the issues facing the service, especially corruption. I have made it clear that time has come and we must have a change.
However, I admit this will take some time because I can’t just come and tell the police stop being corrupt. The commanders know the challenge.
They have to be part of the war so that it cascades to the person on the ground.
PARTNERSHIP
When we see the war against corruption spearheaded by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), we cannot be in isolation, claiming to be fighting graft out there when we are part of it.
Thirdly, I have come at a time when reforms are going on. They have already taken off from the top to the sub-county level.
Now, I have a major role to play in implementing part of the final stage at the station level. This is the working unit of the police which interacts with wananchi.
It is the main key to the reform agenda. I am looking at how we can implement changes at this level.
What are the specific things you want to do at the police station level?
We want to create an automated Occurrence Book. Of course it requires resources, so I cannot give a timeline on when this will be finished but it is an area I will pursue.
But first and foremost I want to deal with corruption, because that is our greatest challenge.
If I’m able to do 50 per cent, even before the media captures it, Kenyans will have given me feedback.
You know dealing with corruption within the police service is easier said than done …
I have looked at areas where I can do a quick fix. One, the number of roadblocks are so many, which we don’t require. I shall cut them by half.
There will be no roadblock unless it is approved by the IG. And I must be convinced that the roadblock is serving the purpose. This will cut corruption by a big margin and you will soon feel it.
Another way I shall cut corruption and improve service delivery is through realigning stations and police bases under one leadership.
Right now, we have about four units in one station and nobody can account for what the other is doing because everyone enjoys autonomy. I will go down as the man who implemented the structure at the station level.
Housing was part of police reforms. When it was rolled out, it was being pushed as a game changer, but it has turned to be a bad experience for officers. Do you think this model is workable?
I used to think like you before I joined but it has turned out to be the exact opposite. It is one of the best ideas and, internally from the officers, it has been lauded.
A majority of the officers approve the housing allowances and the freedom of living with public.
There are some slight issues in the main cities where officers complain that the allowances they get are less than the house rents, but these ones get higher allowances than the rest.
Those who live in Nairobi, for example, have a genuine issue that we can review. Others are even getting surplus.
Officers are complaining that those who have degrees are being overlooked in promotions. What is the policy on promotions?
My predecessor tackled that issue last year and I am also going to look into it. We don’t have a policy on promotions.
It is one of the agendas we have at the National Police Service Commission. It would be premature for me to make a comment now.
Crime incidents increased by 11 per cent last year. This has been the trend in the past five years, which is ironical because it is during this period that the government hired the highest number of police officers ever. Does this look weird to you?
As I just told you, my first concern is to look at improving security in the country. But generally, I think terrorism would be the greatest challenge.
There have been a lot of gains in addressing this problem because aside from sporadic attacks, we have done well, apart from the Dusit attack.
Another area is the illicit drugs trade, which is a global problem. So far, we have managed to deal with the big drug barons.
But when you come to consumption, some areas have more prevalence than others, but that is an area I will put my focus on.
So which crime is currently giving you sleepless nights?
For now I will say cattle rustling. I have increased surveillance in cattle rustling-prone areas to contain it.
Crime is becoming sophisticated. Do our police have the capacity to deal with these emerging crimes?
We are doing well in handling complex crimes, particularly from the DCI’s side.
We are increasing CCTV surveillance and the relevant training and expertise to deal with money train investigations.
And this is what I want to put a lot of resources into and borrow best practices from within and outside the country.
Historically, you have been focusing on physical characteristics during recruitment. Is this going to change in order to deal with the emerging realities?
In fact, we have done a lot in that area although we might not have rolled it out before I came in.
This time, we also want to target certain expertise at a higher level, from the Chief Inspector and above.
We will not be looking at the traditional police entry points like physical fitness and age. We will look at the expertise we want to bring in.
That is already in the policy. There is a perception that there is inaction regarding extrajudicial killings …
I don’t agree with the term extrajudicial killings because there is no policy in the service that allows the police to carry out reckless killings. Any illegal killing will not get support from the command.
The DCI was very vicious for over a year in the fight against corruption. He seems to have gone quiet of late after politicians made a lot of noise. What is exactly happening?
The cases he is handling are huge and need time. So I can’t give a comment about that right now.
What is the policy on issuance of bodyguards to VIPs? Two weeks ago, politicians allied to the Deputy President said their bodyguards had been withdrawn.
The noise you are getting is due to the movement of officers to their right positions due to police reforms.
We are also relooking at who is entitled to what. An MP is entitled to one officer but there are others with up to 19 officers.
A governor is entitled to four officers. The noise will not deter us from doing the reforms.
The police air wing has been in the media for all the wrong reasons. When are we ever going to get a fully functional air wing instead of an endless financial pit?
The fact is that due to bureaucracy things can delay, which makes it seem like someone is becoming fishy. Give me a month and you will see a lot of change. I should have six helicopters operational.