The National Police Service (NPS) has announced changes in its recruitment process, with future police enlistments set to be conducted online.
Speaking on Friday, May 9, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said that the online system is intended to seal loopholes that have long been exploited during the traditionally manual recruitment drives.
"The numbers that turn up for these recruitments are actually overwhelming, because of the numerous cases of fraud, but this must stop, and the way we can stop this is by leveraging technology to close the fraud gaps," he said.
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This announcement comes about two months after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced that the government will leverage technology in the next police recruitment exercise.
Speaking at GSU Headquarters on Thursday, March 6, Murkomen detailed that there were ongoing talks with the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on how technology can be used to enhance transparency in recruitment.
He added that the technology to be deployed will eliminate situations where Kenyans are conned by individuals purporting to sell slots to the recruits.
"Because it was the recommendation of the taskforce, we are also going to do recruitment in a more transparent manner. We are working with NPSC to make sure that technology is deployed to protect our citizens.
"It will also make sure that nobody is conned and ensure that all citizens of this country see a more transparent exercise," he said.
Automation of police recruitment exercises was one of the recommendations made by the taskforce led by former Chief Justice David Maraga.
"To stem malpractices in recruitment into the Services and promote competence, accountability and integrity, the Taskforce recommends automation of the recruitment processes, starting with online applications for the advertised positions followed by personal interviews at the recruitment centres," read the report in part.
