Kenya Completes Biometric Registration of Law Enforcement Officers

The government of Kenya has automated law enforcement human resources. Specifically, the Ministry of the Interior has implemented a National Police Service Information Management System, registering the rank and information of every person in the country’s Administration Police Service, National Police Service, and Department of Criminal Investigations.

The enrollment process included biometric registration for each member of Kenya’s 101,288 person police force. The new system is intended to increase accountability and make law enforcement services more professional and more reliable.

“The system will eliminate fraud associated with manual staff records,” said State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena. “It will facilitate the selection, recruitment, and management of police officers and foster fair performance appraisals, transparent deployment and transfers, and merit-based promotions.”

In addition to biometric data, the Human Resource Management System includes a wealth of other information, such as an officer’s rank, service history, and certificate of appointment, as well as their academic record and family background. Future updates to the system will add an online Occurrence Book and automate instant fines, all of which is expected before the end of the year.

“This heralds a new era in police administration and goes a long way in complementing the government’s efforts towards establishing a modern criminal justice infrastructure,” added Dena.

Kenya first began creating a biometric registry in 2014, and has since used biometric information to help with the distribution of social services and to administer elections. The implementation of the Police Service Information Management System indicates that government officials are still searching for other ways to improve their infrastructure with biometric technology.

Sources: All Africa, Capital FM

March 25, 2019 – by Eric Weiss