Nairobi — The government plans recruit 10,000 additional police officers to bolster security in the country amidst rising cases of crimes. Deputy President William Ruto says that the government will also hire vehicles for the police service to ease the challenge of movement being faced by the law enforcers.
"We have a serious challenge in the police force as pertains personnel and transport," he said in his office when he met the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA). "We are talking to the Treasury to see if it is possible to hire additional 10,000 officers to increase the numbers."
Currently, there are 7,000 recruits undergoing training. Ruto said the government was trying to cost the cheaper option between leasing of vehicles against buying new ones.
He says that the government could hire up to 1,300 vehicles which will be deployed to officers in various divisions across the country. The deputy president said many police vehicles were grounded because of minor repairs and this had cost the country millions of shillings.
"We want the police to do what they are trained to - provide security - minor issues like repairing vehicles should not bog them down," he added. The increase of population, he added, had caused a challenge to the police numbers. IPOA was led by its chairman Macharia Njeru who said the authority will soon launch its report on a police performance.
He said the authority was looking for ways to have the police force introduce performance monitoring of officers.
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