The Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit will employ highly sophisticated and intelligence-led systems to detect and prevent crime as part of a pilot process to modernise the National Police Service.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

This was revealed during a benchmarking tour by the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, who was accompanied by, among others, the Director General of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohamed Amin, to the Japan National Police Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department commands the largest police force in Japan, covering the entire Tokyo Metropolis, including its 23 special wards, the western Tama area, and neighbouring islands.

The department is tasked with protecting a massive population of nearly 14 million people alongside millions of daily commuters, the agency operates in one of the world's most densely populated urban centers. By comparison, Nairobi is said to have a population of about four million people.

📌 What You Need to Know

In a statement on Wednesday, June 10, the NPS said the benchmarking took a keen focus on intelligence-led and community -oriented policing, technology integration and specialised urban operations.

“Creating a Metropolitan Police Command supported by strong community-based policing forms a key government initiative,” NPS stated.

According to Kanja, the approach aims to enhance urban security through a balanced model that combines specialised metropolitan capabilities with sustained community engagement and trust building.

Additionally, NPS also observed and received a briefing on Japan's approach in cases of emergency response coordination and crime prevention strategies. Recent department data show Tokyo's 23 special wards record roughly 70,000 to 75,000 total crimes annually for a population of 14 million people.

Kanja has said that the crime prevention system will work as a pilot project and the Metropolitan Police Unit will serve as a model for specialised metropolitan policing in Kenya.

“It is designed to strengthen security, maintain public order, tackle emerging criminal threats, and ensure the overall safety of the city and its environs,” he stated.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke