President William Ruto has announced plans to digitize police stations to better track occurrences and enhance transparency.
Speaking during a townhall meeting in Kisumu during his tour of the Nyanza region on August 29, Ruto emphasized that this step is crucial in curbing corruption.
“As to corruption in police and the rent seeking in police stations, you’re right, we have decided that we’re going to digitize all police stations,” the president said.
He further explained that the government aims to digitize the occurrence book, commonly known as the OB, to prevent the disappearance of reports.
“The famous OB book where you arrive at the station and your report is entered. We want to make sure the Occurrence Book is digital so that we can know what is happening everywhere and reports don’t disappear,” he said.
To further clarify on the programme, Ruto invited the Principal Secretary (PS) of Internal Security, Raymond Omollo who gave the order of priority in the program.
“There’s a program on the plan to do the digitization. First of course we were piloting the OB, the Occurrence Book, so that we are able to keep track of what is going on, but then there’s also the broader police modernization program that we are running, that includes equipping and improving the facilities that they have,” Dr Omollo said.
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At the same time the PS spoke about the installation of CCTV cameras in major cities in a bid to help the police man the streets and hold them accountable.
“There’s a proposal to enhance on the CCTV, I think even in the major cities as it is in Nairobi and Mombasa, we already have that going on to help the police man the streets but also for accountability on the part of the police,” Omollo added.
Ruto Remarks on Bribing Police
The head of state also touched on the issue of citizens bribing the police. He stated that Kenyans played a role in the current rise of corruption in the country, especially within the police sector.
While acknowledging that police officers who extort or demand bribes must be held accountable, President Ruto also emphasized that civilians who offer money to officers for favors or to avoid arrest share the blame for the rise in corruption.
However, the Commander in Chief, defended the men and women in uniform, arguing that police officers, as humans, may occasionally struggle to resist the temptation to accept bribes, and therefore, the responsibility should not rest solely on their shoulders.
“There is serious impunity, and this is something we must deal with as Kenyans. There are people who actively induce policemen with money. I think it is time that we as Kenyans stopped the culture of bribing the police,” he said.
“Because sometimes policemen cannot resist the offers and advances made to them. We must deal with this corruption thing from all angles.”
He added, “We must make sure we take action on police who ask for the money and Kenyans who give money must also be told they are part of the problem, and I don’t know who is going to tell them. We need to tell ourselves to stop that culture.”
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