•The current practice is that police officers get transferred to mostly far-flung and hardship areas whenever their bosses find them in the wrong as a way of retribution.
•But Ipoa characterized the practice as not "a firm and apt strategy in dealing with crime, indiscipline and misconduct" among officers
Police oversight agencies are concerned that impunity within command structures and arbitrary transfer of cops accused of various offences are breeding indiscipline in the service.
A report by the Independent Police Oversight Authority and a senior officer at the Internal Affairs Unit of the National Police service have indicated that indiscipline is rife in the service.
Sitting on recommended disciplinary procedures and misuse of transfers is to blame.
Ipoa's latest report on causes and means of addressing the rising suicide and crime rates in the police service indicates the authority's concern about overuse of the transfer and a disciplining rod.
The current practice is that police officers get transferred to mostly far-flung and hardship areas whenever their bosses find them in the wrong as a way of retribution.
But Ipoa characterized the practice as not "a firm and apt strategy in dealing with crime, indiscipline and misconduct" among officers as it only moves the problem to another locality.
The senior officers have also been fingered for using transfers to frustrate officers they disagree with or don't like, subjecting them to emotional turmoil that result in suicide or violence.
"Have a firm and apt strategy of dealing with officers involved in crime, indiscipline and misconducts to send a clear message that the Service is committed to dealing with indiscipline and not just transfers of such cases," the authority recommended in the report.
Further, a senior officer at the Internal Affairs Unit told the Star that the unit is equally concerned about the use of transfers in the service.
The source, with direct knowledge of the operations at IAU, said that units like AP and DCI departments were notorious for impunity and not implementing the disciplinary recommendations.
"Yes, we are the concerns about arbitrary transfers in the NPS since time immemorial. Officers thought that coming of the National Police Service Commission could have cured it but nothing seems to be improving," he said.
"It should be noted that transfers are the exclusive mandate of the Commission, however, they abdicated their role by delegating issues of transfers to the Services. This is where the problem is."
He said the Internal Affairs Unit has investigated a number of cases where transfers are driven by malice and have recommended stern disciplinary actions against Senior officers involved. Not much mind is often applied to the recommendations, he added.
This has in one way or another curtailed misuse of transfers. The Police Service standing orders and Commission regulations on transfers also outlaw the use of transfers as a form of punishment.
"Indiscipline cases which are on the rise are mainly attributed to Deputy Inspector Generals and Director DCI failure to implement recommendations from ODPP, IPOA and Internal Affairs Unit on disciplinary proceedings."
Lack of implementation of oversight agencies reports has encouraged impunity and indiscipline, the source added.
A clear case is that of OCS Pangani, he said, where a senior cop has been investigated and recommended for action by IAU but no action.
He added that another area affected so much by indiscipline is the Land Fraud department of the DCI.