This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
Kenya Police Reforms: OCPD, OCS, and DCIO Posts Scrapped ¶
Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai announced on July 12, 2019, that the National Police Service (NPS) will deploy Ward Police Commanders in every ward who will be in charge of police operations.
The reforms have led to the end of former divisional police commanders popularly known as OCPDs, Divisional Criminal Investigations bosses known as DCIOs, and District Administration Police commanders (DAPCs).
The OCPDs and DCIOs have been replaced with sub-county police and DCI commanders, while the DAPCs have been scrapped. Base commanders and Divisional Traffic Officers (DTOs) have also been scrapped.
The traffic police department was renamed to the Traffic Police Unit within the Kenya Police Service (KPS), which will be under the sub-county commanders.
According to the NPS board, officers in traffic duties must have served for at least five years before being posted to the new Traffic Police Unit.
Inspector General Mutyambai said the new team of Ward Police Commanders will be expected to implement the NPS policy of making police stations the centre of policing services.
"It is at the stations where the rubber meets the road. If things are right at the police station, most of the objectives of the NPS will be accomplished," he said.
The police boss also announced plans to digitize the occurrence book and other police records, as well as develop a case file management system to upgrade operations and investigations.
Other operational units, including the Special Crimes Prevention Unit, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, and Anti-Bomb Disposal Unit, have retained their independence.
However, the Administration Police's Stock Theft Prevention Unit and the Kenya Police Service's Anti-Stock Theft Unit have been merged into a single unit.
Other units, including the General Service Unit, Traffic Police Unit, Kenya Police Dog Unit, Diplomatic Police Unit, Kenya Airports Police Unit, and Kenya Railways Police Unit, will be under the Kenya Police Service.
