Joseph Kaguthi says Nyumba Kumi has helped curb crime

NAIROBI, KENYA: The community policing initiative has reduced crime rate by 40 per cent across the country.

The Chairman of the National Steering on Community Policing Joseph Kaguthi said most Kenyans have embraced the drive.

Mr Kaguthi said the committee has been creating awareness on the initiative with the assistance of local administrators and security agencies and their efforts had started to bear fruit.

“The initiative has seen most crime such as robbery reduce drastically,” said Kaguthi.

He urged chiefs and their assistants to use social media to pass security information to the public.

Kaguthi, who once served as a provincial commissioner, said use of social media as an early warning system had prevented many crimes from occurring in some areas.

He was speaking in Nakuru where he feted Lanet location chief James Kariuki, who is popularly referred to as the “Tweeting chief”, as the best-performing local administrator in Nakuru County.

“The chief has succeeded in fighting crime through Twitter and we urge other chiefs to emulate him,” he stated.

He added that his team was considering creating a platform for Chief Kariuki to train other chiefs on how to effectively use Twitter to fight crime.

 PROMOTE SECURITY

He also urged the chiefs to engage young people, who are technologically savvy, in helping them understand how to use social media to promote security at the grassroots.

Nakuru County Commissioner Mohamed Birik echoed Kaguthi’s sentiments, saying the Nyumba Kumi initiative had helped improve security in the region.

Mr Birik also called on deputy commissioners and local administrations to use barazas to fight insecurity in their areas of jurisdiction. He pointed out that his team was working with the Immigration department to ensure all foreigners are registered.

“There are laws that govern the presence of foreigners in the county, which must be followed,” he said.

At the same time the commissioner called on residents to collaborate with security stakeholders in fighting insecurity by reporting suspected criminals or activity to the police.