Number of police officers in Kenya drops

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) found that Kenya Police officers’ population fell from 92, 350 in 2023 to 88, 483 officers in 2024. 

The KNBS data indicates that the sum total of police officers, comprising both the Kenya Police and Administration Police, fell by 3.6 per cent from 108,013 in 2023 to 104,080 in 2024. A decrease was also witnessed in the number of prison officers. 

In the years prior to the drop, there had been an upsurge in security officers such that in 2020, they were numbered at 100, 481 and in 2021 the number was 101, 421 and this hit a peak in 2022 when all security officers numbered were 109, 857. Within the prisons department, the number of officers fell by 590 to 30,559 in 2024 from 31,149 in 2023.

This trend had been anticipated following the suspension of police recruitment over the past three years which has put a strain on policing especially in densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural areas covering huge swathes of territory. 

The Kenya security agencies have historically had challenges that have compounded from one regime to the other. Even the highly touted reforms in the sector have realized little or meaningful change. 

According to a Kenya Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) report released last year, the Kenya National Police force faces various challenges, including allegations of bribery, human rights violations, and a weak link between law enforcement and the community.  

On Wednesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government has definite plans to go for a fresh recruitment of around 10, 000 police officers to fill the gap over the next few months, as the Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, also reiterated advanced plans to roll out a recruitment of over 10,000 police officers while appearing in parliament recently. 

However, IG Kanja decried the “overwhelming numbers and fraud that has made police recruitment a nightmare”. IG Kanja placed his hope on technology to stop the vice of corruption.

Further, Murkomen seemed unfazed by the dropping police numbers. During the JKL show on Citizen TV interview, he spoke about other cost effective and digital savvy policing initiatives. 

Murkomen was of the opinion that given a choice, his number one solution to effective monitor huge swathes of land and densely populated urban areas, advance custom made-drones would be his number one choice. 

During the interview Murkomen remarked, “If I had my wish-list, my first wish would be technology. Our dream, which is within our plan, is to have more drones, and not just simple drones… the ones that have longer flight capability and night vision.” 

Murkomen believes the introduction of cutting edge technology is ultimate the solution to assure Kenya’s security.

Murkomen also said he looks forward to a time when the police would be better equipped which ties in with the recent sentiments from the National Intelligence Service Boss, Haji, who said modern threats call for modern policing digital equipment as trans-national crime is now technology based as opposed to physical. 

Murkomen said police work currently requires better equipment than the security sector currently possess as well as high-level training for all security personnel. This, he said, would translate in a well-trained and well-equipped security force that is equal to demands of law and order.

The KIPPRA report from 2025 summarizes the inadequacy of the police service in Kenya by observing they “have not yet fully adopted contemporary technology for law enforcement”.

While criminal records are computerized, the majority, if not all, police stations and outposts in Kenya do not have direct connectivity to share security-related information. 

Consequently, the report says, “numerous police stations across the nation document substantial caseloads in a physical Occurrence Book (OB).” It goes on to outline that the prevailing strategy for crime prevention primarily emphasizes conventional, rudimentary methods such as enforcement, arrests, and “operations” as the primary means of addressing security challenges. 

“Law enforcement agencies place greater reliance on apprehensions, prosecutions, and convictions rather than prioritizing prevention,” it states. 

The report noted that the effectiveness and long-term viability of community policing in Kenya depends upon the enhancement the cultivation of proficient, informed, and law-driven enforcement agencies, and the provision of modern equipment and technological support for police work.