How officers recruitment freeze has affected police-to-civilian ratio- KNBS

The suspension of police recruitment over the past three years has seen the police-to-civilian ratio worsen, declining from 1:479 in 2023 to 1:512 in 2024, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2025, released this week.

The report shows that the total number of police officers, comprising both the Kenya Police and Administration Police, fell by 3.6 per cent to 104,080 in 2024, down from 108,013 the previous year.

In contrast, previous years had seen a steady increase in personnel: 100,481 in 2020 and 101,421 in 2021, before peaking at 109,857 in 2022. The decline began thereafter.

While Africa Check has noted that the frequently cited United Nations recommended police-to-civilian ratio of 1:450 is not based on an official global standard, a shrinking police force can still negatively affect policing, particularly in densely populated and high-crime areas.

Last month, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced plans to recruit 10,000 new police officers within the next two to three months. The recruitment is intended to address officer shortages and strengthen security in areas plagued by insecurity.

"On the issue of police numbers, we are planning to recruit 10,000 officers within the next two to three months to ensure that police stations are adequately staffed," Murkomen said.

This was reaffirmed on Friday by Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, who told MPs that a digital recruitment system will be used in the upcoming intake to close loopholes that have long enabled corruption in manual recruitment exercises.

“The number of applicants during recruitments is overwhelming, and fraud has been a recurring issue. This must stop. Leveraging technology is the way to eliminate these gaps,” he said.

The National Police Service (NPS) aims to recruit at least 25,000 officers over the next five years to address the staffing gap caused by the 2023 recruitment freeze due to budgetary constraints.

Last year, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) informed the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and Internal Security that over 10,000 officers had exited the service due to redeployment, natural attrition, retirement, and other factors.

While the NPSC oversees recruitment for all roles within the service, including specialist and civilian positions, it often delegates the recruitment of uniformed personnel to the Inspector-General.

“In discharging that responsibility, the IG must uphold the values and principles of public service enshrined in the Constitution. These include accountability, transparency, accurate information, merit-based appointments, competitive recruitment, and equal opportunities for all, including women, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities,” the Taskforce on Police and Prison Reforms noted in its report.

The task force further recommended revising the minimum academic qualifications for recruits. The current minimum of a D+ grade has, it said, undermined the professional image of the police service and the morale of individual officers, thereby impacting service delivery.

It proposes raising the requirement to a C- for general officers and a B for cadet officers.

“The taskforce found that the NPS and the NPSC do not conduct a pre-recruitment assessment of national policing needs. Yet, security demands are dynamic, and recruitment should be guided by data and analysis,” the report reads.

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“Such an assessment might, for instance, reveal a need for more criminal investigators than general duty officers and should inform the recruitment strategy.”

Part of implementing this recommendation includes a proposal made last year by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo to incorporate police cadets into the next recruitment drive.