CHAPTER FIVE

FIGHTING CRIME, DRUGS & INSECURITY

The Challenges:

Kenyans have a right to sleep safely in their homes, walk safely on the streets and drive safely on the roads. The Government has a duty to maintain that security. The recent upsurge in mindless murders and car-jackings increases fear of crime. Kenya is not on track to meeting its target of reducing crime. The Government had set to reduce the number of crimes to 35,000 by 2006. However, the reported number of crimes is rising and is most likely to be around 80,000 this year.

President Kibaki’s dereliction of his duty to protect Kenyans is most evident. The Internal Security Minister Michuki talks tough but does nothing to protect our citizens. The raid against the Standard

Group was a raid planned and executed in the name of State security! The saga of the notorious Armenian brothers, whose presence was revealed by one of us and proved, was blatantly defended by the Kibaki Government. The arrogant and casual manner in which this Government has treated public concern about our national security shows that the people at the helm can never be trusted to provide Kenyans with effective personal security. Insecurity and conflict continue to be perpetuated by organized criminal groups. The killings by security officials in circumstances suggesting possible extrajudicial killings increases police complicity in the crime wave.

The current police to population ratio is approximately 1:1150, well below the UN recommended standard ratio of 1: 450. We need to recruit more police.

Drugs are a scourge in every society. The vicious circle of drugs and crime destroys lives and communities, and Kenya’s record on fighting drug dealers and drug pushers is abysmal.

Many governance institutions, such as, the Judiciary and State Law Office face major challenges in eliminating corruption, and the Kibaki Government has failed to work with the development partners to implement the reform programme.

The circulation of illegal firearms in Kenya is a legacy of military conflicts in the region. The increasing number of armed robberies makes the task of blocking access to firearms a top priority.

Our Commitments:

We will never take for granted the security of Kenyans. It will be our legal duty to protect our citizens from crime and conflict and to ensure that the rule of law is upheld in undertaking criminal investigations.
We will significantly increase the number of police officers, police vehicles, communications equipment and enhance crime prevention and investigative capacity.
We will increase overall spending and ensure that the resources are devolved to local police stations.
We will care about social justice and criminal justice.
We will map crime “hotspots” in urban and rural areas and deploy more police officers to enhance police visibility and physical presence.
We will use close circuit television cameras in central business districts of Nairobi and major cities as a tool for crime detection and deterrence.
We will use the nation’s defence forces to provide extra support in policing our national borders in respect of stopping illegal flow of small arms.

Your ODM Government will:

• Maintain law and order, be tough on crime by apprehending, trying and sentencing offenders and tackle the causes of crime.

• Establish a new Metropolitan Police Authority for Nairobi based on the Scorpion force in South Africa. This new “crack force” will be better educated, trained, and equipped to deal with the rising gun crime and murder rates. It will be the foundation for a genuine accountable police force.

• Ensure adequate resources for training, purchase of modern communication equipment, transportation needs and the forensic science capacity to investigate crime.

• Review the current remuneration package of police, housing and office facilities and training with a view to significantly enhancing it.

• Address the shortage of police houses. We aim to build 30,000 new housing units countrywide, 8000 of which should be in Nairobi.

• Engage more citizens in active crime prevention through Neighbourhood Watch schemes and community policing.

• Regulate the private security industry so it works in partnership with the police in the fight against crime.

• Establish an Independent Police Complaints Authority so victims of police brutality or negligence can seek redress. This organization would ensure accountability of the police to the public, investigate cases of alleged extra judicial killings, and ensure that the police act within the law that they are mandated to enforce. Importantly, it could act as the recipient of complaints from junior officers, thus increasing morale and decreasing impunity in the police service. Wage a war on drug abusers and pushers as drugs are root causes of crime, especially in urban areas.

• Strengthen the criminal justice system to work fast – justice delayed is justice denied.

• Review the sentencing policy and ensure that anyone convicted of a second serious sexual or violent crime will get an automatic life sentence.

• Enforce the strictest firearm laws. Ensure maximum vigilance of our borders and play an active role in the international fight against terrorism.

• Ensure support for victims of crime, especially those who have suffered rape.

• Review the entire sentencing policy. We will encourage the use of community sentences as an alternative to prison and use custodial sentences where they are essential for public protection or to make punishment effective.

• We will work constructively with the development partners on the Governance, Justice, Law & Order Sector Reform Programme (GJLOS) ensuring we deepen the reform in all the relevant departments.