PKSOI Lessons Learned Report January 2019 | Page 8

Key Lessons from Supporting Police Reforms in Kenya
(Lesson #2700)
Observation:
Seven major lessons were documented by Saferworld in supporting police reforms in
Kenya over the 2012-2015 timeframe: (1) Build constructive and collaborative partnerships;
(2) Prioritize constructive engagement with the police service; (3) Promote citizen participa-
tion; (4) Ensure strong police ownership over operational policies, including at the local
level; (5) Support access to resources and data; (6) Promote an internal culture of account-
ability; and, (7) Link police reform to the task of addressing community insecurity.
Discussion:
Kenya’s 2010 constitution contained provisions for sweeping reforms of the police service.
These reforms included: merging Kenya’s two police forces (the Kenya Police and the
Administration Police) under one Inspector General of Police, improving the independence
of the police service (i.e., reducing political interference), and strengthening accountability
through new oversight mechanisms. The overall intent of the reforms was to fix issues of
abuse, corruption, and ineffectiveness and transform the police into a modern, accountable,
and responsible service.
In support of Kenya’s police reform agenda, Saferworld (an independent international
organization) and Usalama Forum (a Kenya-based Security Sector Reform lobby group)
implemented a program titled “Institutionalising Comprehensive Police Reforms In Kenya:
Towards Equitable Responsive and Accountable Policing” over a 3-year period: February
2012 to January 2015. Their work consisted of two efforts: technical assistance to govern-
ment institutions to help implement the various reforms, and building capacity of civil society
organizations (CSOs) and the public-at-large to press the government for improved service
delivery by the police. Seven key lessons stand out from this “partnering and capacity-
building” program. A brief discussion of each lesson follows.
1) Build constructive and collaborative partnerships. Saferworld/Usalama’s program
emphasized three types of collaboration: (1) collaboration between Saferworld/Usalama
and local implementing partners, (2) collaboration between Saferworld/Usalama and the
National Police Service (NPS); and, (3) collaboration at the local level between communities
and local authorities/police. Taking the time to build collaboration at the outset of the
program ensured a shared vision/expectation/understanding among the various stake-
holders for overall police reform. This early work included a collaborative methodology for
the design of reform activities, which emphasized flexibility and inclusiveness – not only at
the top/national level, but also heavily at the local/grassroots level.
2) Prioritize constructive engagement with the police service. To ensure commitment
and structured engagement, Saferworld/Usalama worked with the Inspector General of
Police to develop and sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that specified tasks and
responsibilities for the signatories with regard to police reform work. One key task in this
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