IPOA laud police for professional conduct during 2022 General Elections
The National Police Service has been lauded for its professional behaviour during the just-concluded General Elections by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
According to the head of the oversight body, Anne Makori, police officers were more organized and ready to supervise polling stations.
“This is highly commended and encouraged as these are milestone achievements towards police reforms,” Makori stated.
An increase in the number of police officers manning polling and tallying locations also helped.
While claiming that the majority of the officers were trained and briefed by their commanders prior to deployment, Makori noted that there was a margin difference in the way uniformed ‘men’ went about their responsibilities in the polls compared to the previous electoral process.
Additionally, she stated that information from the audit showed that standby detachments had been bolstered in time for the 2022 elections.
Makori also said that during the 2017 election cycle, the NPS had upgraded its methods for acquiring information on criminal gangs, created elaborate hotspot areas, and improved police officer tools and equipment in accordance with international standards.
According to IPOA, there was a well-coordinated security officer briefing and debriefing during and prior the elections.
“Operational planning and preparations by the NPS were better conducted and officers adequately trained. Under the Election Security Arrangement Programme (ESAP), Police officers across the ranks were extensively trained on public order management and de-escalation techniques. This was partly in implementation of IPOA’s recommendations after the 2017 elections and also after the 2022 party primaries,” the audit read by Makori revealed.
The authority report further revealed that the security officers had established precedent for comparable electioneering procedures in the future.
“This was not as effectively managed in the 2017 elections. The National Police Service made concerted efforts to improve its relationship with members of the public through social media campaigns and media updates on incidents as they happened,” Makori stated in the report
