REMARKS BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE, MR DAVID M. KIMAIYO, MGH, CBS DURING A MEETING WITH SENIOR EDITORS ON FRIDAY MARCH 28, 2014 AT THE SERENA HOTEL, NAIROBI The Chairman of the Editors Guild, Mr Macharia Gaitho Senior Editors & Reporters Colleagues in the National Police Service Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased that you have honored our invitation this morning to come and share breakfast with us as we discuss pertinent issues that relate to our national security and the National Police Service. Today’s engagement with you the senior editors is an important step for the National Police Service as we seek to engage with yourselves on matters of common interest for our two entities. Early this year, we embarked on a process of developing a communications strategy for the Service. This strategy is designed to enhance the Service’s capacity to communicate effectively to Kenyan Public. The National Police Service has always viewed the media as one of its most important stakeholders in the fulfillment of its mandate of providing security due to the following reasons; a) The media has a crucial surveillance role – I believe few institutions have the capacity to know what is happening around the country at any given time. I can only think of two – the Police and the Media. b) The media has a unique “multiplier effect” – what is reported in one section of the media is replicated to reach thousands, if not millions of people within a very short time. This has been made even more dynamic with proliferation of digital platforms and social media. c) Kenyans trust the media – time and again surveys have shown that media is one of the most trusted institutions in the country These are some of the reasons that we have raised the profile of media as a key stakeholder for the National Police Service requiring focused attention. Additionally, we are cognizant of the fact that the Constitution of Kenya presents new demands for public communication. Article 35 gives citizens the right to access information held by the State or any public institution. Article 34, on the other hand, guarantees the freedom of the media, which is a vital tool for providing information to the public. It is against this background that we have ensured that all communication activities by the National Police Service are given the attention that they deserve. Ladies and Gentlemen, we know that Kenyans are eager to see real and meaningful changes in the National Police Service. I can without any fear of contradiction tell you that many changes have happened in the Service over the past one year than have ever occurred in many years. I will highlight just a few of these gains: a) Establishment of a centralized command/control centre and operationalisation of 999/112 Service, which last functioned over 30 years ago. Today, over 5,000 calls are received daily and help given to those in distress. b) Revision of the Force Standing Orders to Service Standing Orders and opening these up for discussion and validation by stakeholders. Previously these were “confidential” documents c) Establishment of the Kenya Association of Women in Policing to support female officers professional development and networking. This is the first time this has been allowed. d) Development of a gender and human rights policy for the National Police Service. e) Implementation of deliberate and focused anti-corruption initiatives. f) Improvement of police officers welfare – payment of outstanding allowances, improvement of terms and conditions of service, provision of suitable accommodation and comprehensive insurance cover for all police officers with effect from July 1, 2014. g) A total of 1200 new vehicles allocated to police stations and mechanisms put in place for proper utilization of these vehicles. h) Development of Community Policing Policy guidelines to enhance interaction with the public in structured manner in progress currently. At times however, these gains are not prominently highlighted probably due to lack of details and instead what features more often in the media are reports of alleged stalled police reforms. We all acknowledge that reforming an institution is not an event, it is a process and a journey which the National Police Service is undertaking. It is therefore my assurance that we are on the right course besides the legislative handles that may be on the way. We would like to engage the media more openly so that we may propagate the gains that we have made, as well as informing our next moves so that what we are doing is not either under reported or misrepresented. It is for this reason that in our draft Service Standing Orders, an entire chapter has been dedicated to delegating communications to county and divisional units so that County Commanders and OCPDs will have communication targets that will be reviewed on a regular basis. In this regard, I urge you to encourage your reporters to be more engaging in seeking information at the grass root. Our officers have been instructed to disseminate the same in a timely manner based on legal and policy provisions. The country is facing some security challenges at the moment and as a service we are doing all we can within our means to tame the situation. I am requesting for reportage which does not seem embolden the criminals. We have mapped out crime spots to ensure that we counter criminal activities before they happen, proactiveness is the spirit. Already this strategy is bearing fruit because we have been able to thwart several terrorist and other criminal activities before they occur. I am also urging positive criticism where we need to up the game and I can assure you that we take your views very seriously. My purpose of requesting for this meeting was mainly therefore to provide a forum where we can hear more from you on how we can better our working relationship. I wish you a great day and look forward to more interactions with you. Thank you and may God Bless you. DAVID M. KIMAIYO, MGH, CBS. INSPECTOR GENERAL NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:49:26 +0000
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