Mount Kenya University has built a community policing centre in Thika that will also serve as a traffic police office at the Thika police station.
The centre was launched Friday by Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a together with officials from MKU as well as county and national government on Friday.
The police post and traffic office are also expected to resolve road traffic issues and deepen relations between police and the community.
Ng’ang’a will officially commissioned the the community policing facility, located on General Kago Road, next to MKU’s main campus.
She urged the residents, including the institutions of learning, to play a part in enhancing security in the area.
“The success of this initiative will only come along when [all of us] who are the stakeholders of this area work together to support this initiative," the MP said.
"When you witness a crime and fail to report, you are failing yourself and the community. So let us all embrace this new initiative as our programme for the good of all of us who are here today, tomorrow and in the future.
I am well aware of the rising number of higher education institutions of learning, the continued industrial growth within the Thika Town constituency, as well as the rise in business network."
MKU vice-chancellor, Prof Deogratius Jaganyi, says both initiatives have been implemented under a public-private partnership involving the three parties.
“MKU will continue to forge synergetic partnerships with security organs in safeguarding peace and security in the community,” he said.
He added that the university will also facilitate the students and faculty to participate in security interventions, especially in the emerging security threats, such as cybercrime.
MKU’s funding of the construction of the Industrial Area community policing facility and traffic police office in Thika is a community outreach project expected to enhance the safety and security of residents, including students.
The university, in close consultation with the police, provided all the building materials and labour that was used to set up the facility.
Prof Jaganyi said that, while initially the facility was intended to be a patrol base, the need for devolving more services to the community led to its expansion to what it is now.
