The government is building 15 new prisons and 106 housing units for prison staff, Correctional Services PS Micah Powon has said.
He said the department grapples with a strained budget, congestion of prisons, complex crimes, lack of modern security equipment and inadequate staff housing and correctional programmes.
Powon said the Kenya Prisons Service is increasing the number of staff and providing CCTV systems and metal detectors in maximum security and main prisons.
The PS said the number of prisoners in correctional facilities has dropped from 52, 800 to 46,000 after President Uhuru Kenyatta pardoned more than 7,000 petty offenders on October 20.
He said the government is empowering the prisons to use land resources at their disposal to sustain themselves. Powon said the move to decongest prisons will reduce the pressure on the correctional facilities and hasten penal reforms.