Today in my life as a police officer is a very significance day. It reminds me of when I joined the Administration Police force by then on 13th July 1984 as a specially recruited brass instrumentalist after applying in writing. I had applied in the four marching bands namely Kenya army band, Kenya police band,Administration Police band and the Kenya prisons band. I was invited for an interview by the four institution which I attended all.
The administration police band interview was done on the 13th July 1984 at the band room in APTC and I remember that on that day after satisfying the interviewing panel I remember the former director of music, Mr. Mbithi (the late God rest his soul) told me in Kiswahili kijana kwenda unyolewe na uingie training) young man go and have a haircut and join the training. This was unlike all the other interviews I had done in the other three marching bands where I was told to go back home and wait. My journey to becoming a police officer started that day at around 1100 am and here I am now celebrating 30 years today.
This reminds me that tomorrow the 14th July 2014 the National Police Service Commission will be recruiting 10,000(ten thousand) young Kenyans to join the two National Police Services in Kenya.
I have seen it wise to do this write up to enlighten those young Kenyans who are eagerly awaiting to attend the recruitment in their respective sub counties tomorrow 14th July 2014 and try their luck.
The constitution of Kenya article 244 Provides the Objects and functions of the National police as follows The National Police Service shall— (a) strive for the highest standards of professionalism and discipline among its members; (b) prevent corruption and promote and practice transparency and accountability; (c) comply with constitutional standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms; (d) train staff to the highest possible standards of competence and integrity and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and dignity; and (e) foster and promote relationships with the
broader society. This means that police work in Kenya is very important hence the relevant article in the constitution, I would want to share with the young men and women who are looking forward to join the national police service tomorrow.
When you join the police and after undergoing your training you will probably save someone’s life every day you come to work. This may involve pulling a victim out of a car involved in an accident, a house on fire or providing first aid and basic life support to a shooting victim before
paramedics arrive. Aside from these obvious examples, your presence and consistent enforcement of laws will save countless lives that you’ll never know about. Every distress call you attend, every speeding or overloaded
vehicle you stop, every intervention you do in a fight or every incident of domestic violence you respond to may have been a fatality in the making before you prevented it. As a police officer most often you will encounter people when they’re at their worst. Persons who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, rude people, gang members, robbers, rapists, spousal abusers are just a few examples of the kinds of people you’ll meet.
You may not believe it, but one of the most satisfying aspects of serving as a police officer is the unique opportunity you have to show these people a better way. These people are usually an enslaved audience and,if treated kindly, politely and respectfully,will listen to what you have to say. Though you may never know it, what you say and how you treat the lowliest criminal may play a huge role in whether or not they make better choices in the future.
The daily police work is potential completely different from yesterday. At any time your entire work can change instantly. Your entire work day can change in an instant, at any time. The police service is a better environment for those who abhor monotony.
Different shifts have different experiences,but the opportunities to diversify job tasks are abundant, as well. If you find yourself in patrols or beats, you may also try a hand in investigations, report office, traffic department, special assignment unit, gender desk officers, records officer and other relevant fields. As a police officer this allows you to be a motivated officer as you try your hand at a host of unique and interesting skills and job tasks.
Most People will always enjoy challenges.Out there, there are few career fields more challenging than police work. When performed well, police work invokes all sorts of challenges, both physical and mental.
You will find yourself chasing robbers and with your training you will automatically outsmart them. At the end of it is about solving a problem. As police officers you will often work with individuals in conflict to come up with mutually agreeable solutions.
With the introduction of Nyumba Kumi initiative or the community policing, a great deal of police work now involves helping people solve problems to keep them out of the criminal justice systems, rather than taking action to put them in it. When you are in the field you will be serving to serve as a law enforcement officer, doctor, lawyer,judge, counsellor, social worker, teacher, and the list goes on.
Serving the community is the noble job of a police officer. For some of us it is enormously satisfying thing to know that our work serves a greater good. There are plenty of personally rewarding aspects of police work, but the knowledge that what you do will hopefully help scores of people in the long run is perhaps the biggest “insubstantial” reward.
People are social animals, and it’s in our African tradition to want to help each other.Working as a police officer fulfils this desire that so many of us have, while at the same time providing an opportunity to support yourself and your family.Of course, these are just a few reasons to consider working in law enforcement. There are far more benefits to the job, perhaps even too numerous to list. If you’re looking for a great job with great rewards, you can do far worse than being a police officer.Careers in policing are often heralded for their many intangible benefits, from helping others to serving communities. These are certainly laudable and lofty ideals.
Police officers in Kenya often face negative stereotyping. There exists a growing sentiment in many communities in our country about the badness of all police officers. For instance,during the last decade the police have occasionally been ranked as the most corrupt institution in Kenya. A
number of high profile cases have emerged involving alleged police brutality and corruption. Also some of the police officers have been involved in robberies. As a result,when you join the police don’t expect to receive an automatic respect and admiration in many levels of society. Increasing anti-government sentiment breeds disrespect,suspicion, and the challenge of authority and the more negative media coverage of the police is a challenge.
All the same you have an opportunity to join the police and make the choice of the police you would want to serve better by being a person of integrity and upright moral values.
I would humbly request you not to pay any bribe to join the police during the recruitment as this will increasingly amount to putting more corrupt officers in the service. Be a patriotic Kenyan and be recruited honestly by saying no to
corruption.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of community service but are wondering whether or not a job as a police officer will be able to provide you with what you’re looking for in a career, I encourage you to go in the specifi recruitment areas and try your luck tomorrow 14th July 2014 with the notion of police career as a calling to serve Kenyans.
Good luck.
Gitahi Kanyeki, HSC
Internal Affairs Unit
National Police Service.
Note :Kenya Police recruitment begins on 14th July,2014..We hope the Kenyan Youth will participate fully for a chance to join the service.
