Police boss Joseph Boinnet has said he is worried about the high cases of cops turning guns on themselves and other innocent civilians.
Boinnet said their work exerts tremendous stress that can lead to such decisions.
“But it concerns us a lot. For that reason, we have created a department of counselling which as of now, we are in the process of decentralising those services to the regions and if resources allow in the future we will go further to the counties,” he said.
The Inspector General of Police spoke in Mombasa on Sunday at the Kenya School of Government where he met Coast Commanders ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Monday visit.
President Uhuru will be in the region to launch
the
Eat More Fish Campaign
after he commissions the newly formed Kenya Coast Guard Service.
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Boinnet said the ongoing reforms in the police service will see officers live with civilians.
He said starting December officers of all ranks will access housing allowances to enable them to live outside police stations.
There is the anxiety of what will become of neighbours who will share a building with police who are stressed and face psychosocial problems.
“We want to support officers that require this help because of tremendous stresses that police work exert on us. Majority cops work very well but a few, occasionally, break down,” Boinnet said.
The plan, he noted, will be the realization of community policing – community and police working jointly in the provision of public safety and security.
Boinnet said the fixing of command structures will be complete soon.
“Very soon you will begin seeing the changes. They may certainly not come at a go because reforms and transformation is a continuous process,” he said.