NATIONAL POLICE WEAPON ACQUISITIONS
President Uhuru Kenyatta had a security meeting on Saturday 23rd January 2016 with senior heads of Police.
During the meeting, President Kenyatta pledged of sophisticated weapon upgrade for the police to enable them curb cases of insecurity.
Police will have a more efficient helicopter — AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter which the government paid an Italian company Sh683 million in the 2014/2015 financial and is expected in the country in the next two or so weeks.
The Helicopter with twin-engine and a capacity of 15 passengers has hi-tech surveillance for both day and night operations.
The Kenyan government has also purchased a new helicopter while two other MI-17 helicopters are being refurbished. The MI-17 helicopter has capacity to carry between 20 and 30 fully armed troops has capability to operate well over long distances, by remaining airborne for six hours.
Currently, the police Airwing has 14 aircrafts, six fixed wing and eight helicopters.
According to President Uhuru Kenyatta, Police departments are being equipped to improve their capability and efficiency in tackling the current security hurdles.
The police Command, Control and Communication Centre at Jogoo House is also set for upgrade.
The Centre is set to be installed with at least 1,800 surveillance cameras in strategic locations in Nairobi and Mombasa to boost police efficiency. So far more than 300 police officers have received training to operate the system and stationed at various places in the country to urgently respond to emergency as soon as they are detected.
Officers sent on assignments will now be tracked using GPS while call numbers 999, 112 and 911 are set to be operational 24 hours.
The government also has acquired 2,200 assortments of vehicles through a lease agreement which will be distributed across the country. The vehicle include double cabin Ford Rangers, Subaru Forester, Subaru Outback, and Toyota Land Cruisers among others.
Most importantly the Police will have for the first time in history acquire Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) that will be used especially by officers working in terror-prone areas.
The APCs will go a long way at protecting the crew from mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other ballistic threats while on delicate missions.
Night goggles are also expected to improve the efficiency of police operations at night. The devices aid the eyesight in low lighting by amplifying the surrounding light.
They can also magnify objects so they will appear closer or detect body heat through infrared light.
The National Police Service which has in the past faced challenges of not adequately equipped both on the ground and on its air wing is now expected to scale-up tactical reconnaissance, night reconnaissance, air observation, and casualty evacuation, especially in remote areas with the new sophisticated acquisitions.
