Why looming police hiring is critical after three-year freeze

The planned recruitment of 10,000 police officers is poised to enhance the capacity of the National Police Service (NPS) to tackle mounting security challenges. 

The exercise comes after a three-year, a period that has strained the force’s ability to respond effectively to threats such as cattle rustling, banditry, and terrorism. The government’s decision to resume recruitment, announced by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, has been met with approval from both serving officers and the public.

For the past three years, the NPS has faced a recruitment freeze attributed to budgetary constraints. During this time, the force has shrunk due to retirements, resignations, deaths, and officers leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.

Other vacancies have been created by dismissals, promotions, permanent disabilities, secondments to other departments, and the establishment of new positions to address emerging threats.

This has left police stations understaffed, compromising their ability to maintain law and order.

“We are conscious of the fact that in the last three to four years, we have not been able to hire or recruit new police officers, and that has put a big strain on most police stations,” Murkomen acknowledged during his announcement.

The last significant recruitment freeze occurred 17 years ago, between 2008 and 2011, following recommendations from the Justice (Rtd) Philip Ransley-led task force on police reforms. That moratorium, intended to allow for the development of a new training curriculum, led to a severe officer shortage, a situation that echoes today’s challenges.

Declining ratio

The United Nations recommends a police-to-population ratio of 1:450 — one officer for every 450 citizens. Kenya was making strides toward this target, but the recent recruitment pause has reversed those gains.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja puts the ratio at 1:507, a decline from 1:461 in 2022 when the Kenya Economic Survey reported 109,857 officers serving a population of 50.6 million. With the population growing and police numbers dwindling, the urgency to bolster the force has never been greater.

Police officers have welcomed the planned recruitment, expected to commence by September, describing it as long overdue. The new officers will join various units, including the Kenya Police Service, Administration Police Service, General Service Unit (GSU), and Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

“The recruitment is timely considering that for the last three years we have not been able to recruit, and the numbers have gone down; we need new blood injected into specialised units like Rapid Deployment, Special Operations Group, and Border Patrol that require young men and women,” Kanja said.

The announcement has sparked hope among officers stationed in high-risk areas like Baringo County, where morale has plummeted due to prolonged exposure to violence, long working hours, and separation from families.

One officer, speaking anonymously, highlighted the toll of these conditions: “What do you expect of demoralised police officers, some who have remained stationed here for the last nine years working long hours without seeing their wives and children?”

Depressed officers

He cited the tragic case of a constable who attempted suicide on April 3 by shooting himself with his G3 rifle at the Marigat Deputy County Commissioner’s office. Colleagues noted that the officer, who had transitioned from the GSU to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit and later the Administration Police Service, appeared deeply troubled, possibly due to inadequate debriefing during his reassignments.

Kenya faces a complex array of security challenges that have underscored the need for a robust police force. In the North Rift, cattle rustlers and bandits continue to wreak havoc in counties like Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, and Samburu.

A recent attack in Baragoi, Samburu County, left five people dead, illustrating the persistent volatility despite heavy police deployment. In the North Eastern region and Boni Forest, Al Shabaab militants pose a relentless threat. On February 3, the group abducted five chiefs and a girl in Mandera County during an ambush. Days later, they killed six police reservists and injured four others in Fafi, Garissa County, overrunning a camp with sophisticated weaponry.

The militants’ audacity was evident last December 17, when eight officers from the Special Operations Group and Border Patrol Unit were injured by an Improvised Explosive Device in Wajir County. In Boni Forest, Operation Linda Boni — launched in 2015 — has kept police and military personnel stationed for nearly a decade to counter Al Shabaab’s training bases. These operations, while critical, have stretched the NPS thin, limiting its ability to address other crimes like homicides, carjackings, violent robberies, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and traffic offenses.

Kamau Ngugi, executive director of the Defenders Coalition, argues that the shortage of officers has forced police into desperate measures, including extrajudicial killings.

“Recruitment should be done to replace and replenish, otherwise, that’s how we end up with a country that operates outside the rule of law. Gangs take over, and in response, police resort to extra-judicial killings,” he says.

Ngugi emphasises that an understaffed force undermines public safety and investor confidence, urging Parliament to allocate sufficient funds for the recruitment drive and ensure the force reflects Kenya’s diversity.

The entry of 10,000 new officers is expected to alleviate some of these pressures. “In any organisation, police included, recruitment is a very important function in replacing employees who have left. We therefore really appreciate the government for supporting us by recruiting additional officers needed to boost our strength in numbers,” Kanja stated.

Operations zones

For officers in operational zones, the recruitment promises relief, as fresh graduates are typically deployed to such areas, allowing veterans to be reassigned.

“The significance of the recruitment is that some of us in operational assignments will now be transferred to allow freshly graduated officers to take over,” the Baringo officer explained, though he lamented the skewed transfer policy.

Beyond numbers, the recruitment offers an opportunity to enhance training and professionalism. Kanja stressed that adequate staffing enables officers to undergo advanced training, equipping them with new skills and knowledge.

“An officer who is well-trained renders better services to the people. Training infuses confidence since the officer is able to act or make decisions from an informed point of view,” he said.

This aligns with Article 244(d) of the Constitution, which mandates the NPS to train staff to the highest standards of competence, integrity, and respect for human rights.

Transforming the force

Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, who oversees the Kenya Police Service, sees the recruitment as a catalyst for his vision of transforming police stations into centers of excellence.

“The Inspector General has been emphasising the need to make police stations centres of excellence, but this cannot be possible when we don’t have enough numbers,” Lagat noted.

Through infrastructure upgrades, capacity building, and stronger community engagement, he aims to create a police service where citizens feel safe, respected, and valued.

“With new additional boots on the ground, policing will greatly improve, and we shall be able to fill the gaps left by those officers who have either died, resigned, retired, or left for greener pastures,” he added.

As Kenya grapples with evolving security threats, this year’s recruitment represents a critical step toward restoring the NPS’s strength and effectiveness. For a nation striving to balance development and stability, these 10,000 new officers could mark the beginning of a safer, more secure future.