DCI targets graduate officers for new crime prevention unit
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti. Even as the government waxes lyrical on the fight against corruption, the Finance Reporting Centre and Assets Recovery Agency, two bodies established under Proceeds of Crime and Anti Money Laundering Act, 2008, are grossly underfunded and understaffed. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The team will undergo local and international training to enable them deal with emerging crimes.
- The DCI will impose a bonding to commit the officers to serve the government for a specific period of time before they can resign.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has begun an overhaul of the operations of units across the country.
Apart from massive transfers for Divisional Criminal Investigations officers and 700 other officers, the directorate is now targeting graduate police officers to join its newly formed Public Crime Advisory Team at the headquarters on Kiambu Road, Nairobi.
The team, according to the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti, will undergo local and international training to enable them deal with emerging crimes.
“We have had several squads that deal with armed robberies, special crimes, homicides and terrorism, but we need a proactive team to deal with cybercrime, human trafficking, misuse of ICT gadgets, banking fraud and corruption,” Mr Kinoti said.
“Crimes keep changing as technology advances, that’s why we need a competent team to deal with them,” he said.
APPRAISAL
On Thursday, Mr Kinoti recalled all graduates working under the DCI for interviews at the headquarters.
The graduates were tested by local and international detectives on forensics, ballistics, economic crimes and land fraud.
“The graduates were vetted to identify what units they would best fit in,” he said.
The 59 graduate police officers in the ranks of constables, corporals, superintendents and senior superintendents of police, inspectors and chief inspectors were drawn from all over the country.
“We want to make use of their skills in order to revamp the specialised units, but we must conduct a scrutiny of their conducts,” he said.
SALARIES
The recall waved a sign of good riddance to the graduate police constables whose pay spurred controversy over the past one week.
The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) decided to have the graduate constables’ salaries reviewed to match those of non-graduate officers in the same ranks.
The adjustments stripped the officers of allowances. Most of the officers complained of receiving low or no pay since they had taken loans to finance their studies.
RECRUITMENT
The NPSC later shelved the plan to withdraw the allowances, the officers now demand that their promotions to the ranks of inspectors be effected.
Mr Kinoti indicated his intention to recruit more officers from the Kenya Police Service and the Administration Police Service to join the DCI.
He said that those who would be attached to the DCI headquarters would be exposed to high-stake crimes committed by even the high ranking members of the society.
“There have been complaints that only the poor land in jails as the people they work for to squander money from the government go free.
"We want to put an end to this by absorbing people who cannot be easily manipulated,” Mr Kinoti said.
And to avoid human capital freight of officers who will acquire specialised training, the DCI will impose a bonding to commit the officers to serve the government for a specific period of time before they can resign.
