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Body Cameras For Kenyan Police?

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Body Cameras For Kenyan Police? Photo Courtesy
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Body Cameras For Kenyan Police?

Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai responding to a proposal from one of the Kenyans during his weekly Twitter interaction #EngageTheIG.

He said the deployment of the technology was an idea whose time has come but whose implementation would be subject to the availability of resources.

In regard to this, the National Police Service says it would not shy away from using body-worn cameras in efforts to improve efficiency and transparency.

If adopted, Kenya would join the growing list of countries that have embraced smart policing in the fight against crime and as a safety measure to protect the men and women in blue during operations.

That aside, the police boss said he was pushing for legislative changes to address the complaints in the traffic department including corruption.

Body Cameras For Kenyan Police? Photo Courtesy

Mutyambai assured they were accelerating digital reforms to enhance service delivery and that the digital Occurrence Book (OB) will be rolled out to all the stations countrywide.

“This is work in progress and we are in the process of rolling it out countrywide. I am aware that some stations still use books but it’s just a matter of time before we go completely digital” he said on the live Twitter chat.

While putting on notice corrupt officers, the IG defended the use of notebooks by police during checks saying it was a requirement for record-keeping.

This is after a tweep claimed the note pads were being used to keep a record of matatu operators who had paid the ‘mandatory’ daily bribes demanded by the officers.

He said random checks would be conducted to weed out the tainted traffic cops.

On security matters, he said roadblocks erected on major highways will not be removed despite an outcry.

“These multi-agency roadblocks act as screening points to ensure that criminals are held at bay. Mobile patrols have also been added in a bid to bolster security” he emphasized.

Early this month, the IG and traffic commanders resolved at a recent meeting that roadblocks and static police checks be removed because of complaints from motorists that traffic officers use them to collect bribes.

On the boda boda menace, he said measures were in place to streamline the sector including enforcement of traffic rules and a code of conduct for the riders.

“We have started by retraining bodaboda operators, this includes traffic rules observation, security, and code of conduct after which there will be a crackdown. Currently, traffic regulations are being enforced by the officers on the roads, and arrests are made daily”.

Felicity Gitonga
Felicity Gitonga is the founder of Africa Business News. abn, freelance writer, journalist, and author with a passion for telling stories.

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