Newly appointed DCI chief George Kinoti says the Flying Squad is being reconstituted because of reports some police collude with criminals.
In an interview with the Star yesterday, Kinoti said an overhaul is also underway in the Special Crime Prevention Unit and the Criminal Intelligence Unit.
“We have not disbanded the Flying Squad, but we will reogranise the teams to suit our security needs,” Kinoti said. The two are the elite police squads that deal with complex criminal cases such as armed robberies and kidnappings.
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“We have evidence some officers have been colluding with criminals. I have, therefore, decided to overhaul the two units,” Kinoti said.
Besides massive transfers of all the 400 officers working in the two units, Kinoti said the command of the two units would be centralised.
The Flying squad and the Special Crime Prevention Unit will have a maximum of 100 officers each.
In the past Flying Squad officers working outside Nairobi reported to divisional DCI chiefs, however, now all officers will be based in Nairobi and report to one commander. The same will apply to the Special Crime Unit.
A shakeup is considered necessary to ensure crimes are solved swiftly, without coverup and officers do not “sit on” cases and files.
Last evening, Kinoti was to address 300 Flying Squad officers at DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road.
A police officer accused of renting guns to criminals was charged in Nairobi last month. Senior Sergeant Gabriel Rotich, formerly in charge of the armoury at the Kiambu DCI, peaded not guilty.
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