Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced plans to deploy an artificial intelligence-powered system to guide police deployment nationwide by December 2026.
Speaking during the passing-out parade of police recruits at Kiganjo in Nyeri County on Friday, August 28, Murkomen explained that the system would use data analytics and AI to determine where officers serving under the National Police Service (NPS) should be stationed.
“The system will enable us to have data analytics that will even apply AI to be able to know which officers are going to be deployed to which corner of our country. That programme is underway, and by the end of this year we will have rolled it out substantively,” he said.
The CS further announced plans to introduce digital occurrence books (OBs) as part of the technology-driven reforms. The digital system will be integrated with police command centres, enabling members of the public to report crimes remotely.
“Communication centres will be accompanied by a digital OB that will enable all Kenyans to report crime from the comfort of their offices or at the place where they witness a crime,” he added.
The new system is expected to improve the collection and analysis of crime data from different regions, giving police authorities access to information that can inform security operations and deployment decisions.
Murkomen revealed that the first command centres would be established in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nyeri, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu.
The government is also pursuing other technology-based reforms aimed at improving police accountability and service delivery. These include plans to install CCTV cameras at approximately 1,200 police stations to monitor activities within the facilities.
The move comes after Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja directed that officers in charge of police stations be interdicted whenever a detainee dies in custody, pending investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Murkomen also disclosed that the government was procuring 1,200 electric vehicles for the National Police Service. The vehicles are expected to improve police mobility and address transport challenges reported by stations across the country.
The CS outlined the measures as part of wider efforts to digitise NPS operations, strengthen accountability and improve the delivery of security services.
He also credited President William Ruto with supporting the reforms through the mobilisation of resources aimed at improving police operations.
