All police posts and patrol bases with less than six officers have been ordered closed and the officers reposted to stations.
Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service Edward Mbugua said such officers in the posts are unable to provide services to members of the public as expected.
“It has come to my knowledge that there are police posts and patrol bases being manned by an inadequate number of officers and therefore unable to provide services as expected,” Mbugua said.
He directed that such areas be run by officers from the mother stations.
“You are directed to recall those officers and deploy them at their mother stations. Security within the affected areas will be provided by sending officers on patrols,” he said.
The directive came a day after unknown people raided Kirimon police post in Samburu Central and stole two G3 rifles –serial numbers A01278 and A04499 –together with two magazines loaded with 40 bullets.
The incident took place at around 9.30pm on Tuesday. The raiders broke the door of the armoury before stealing the firearms. They shot in the air as they fled.
The post had four officers but at the time of the incident, there was only one officer who had also gone to his house, leaving the post unmanned.
Investigations revealed that the report office and the armoury were left unguarded.
Detectives recovered one spent cartridge of G3 rifle, a broken padlock and a door latch outside the police post.
The police service underwent major restructuring in 2018 that saw 23,900 AP officers formally join the Kenya Police Service.
The restructuring has significantly reduced cases of overlapping mandates, with stations realigned for effective policing in line with security demands.
APS is now completely specialised in its core mandate that includes border patrols, guarding critical infrastructure and dealing with stock theft.
Under the new structure, the APS has formed units that include the Special Weapons and Tactics team, Camel Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, Border Police Unit, APS Stock Theft Prevention Unit and Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit.
