The National Assembly’s Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities has directed the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to enhance counseling services for police officers, citing concerns over increasing stress-related deaths and other psychological challenges within the force.
The Committee, chaired by Mandera West MP Hon. Adan Yusuf Haji, urged NPSC Chief Executive Officer Mr. Peter Leley to recruit more professional counselors and establish additional counseling centers across the country to meet the growing demand for mental health support among police officers.
During a recent meeting, the Committee noted that the existing regional counseling centers were inadequate to serve the increasing number of officers in need of psychological support. Hon. Haji emphasized the urgent need for more resources to be allocated to mental health services for officers, pointing out that stress and other mental health challenges had led to a worrying rise in police suicides.
“The current regional counseling centers are not sufficient enough to provide psychological support to police officers,” said Hon. Haji. “The Commission must act swiftly to deploy more counselors and make these services easily accessible.”
Leley informed the Committee that, during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years, the Commission had recruited and deployed 38 counselors and social workers across 12 regional centers. These centers are located in Embu, Machakos, Lamu, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Kiambu, Mandera, Marsabit, and Kakamega, as well as in Nairobi at the regional police headquarters, SGB, GSU headquarters, and DCI academy.
However, MPs expressed concern that the centers were too far from some officers. Luanda MP Hon. Dick Maungu noted that officers from remote areas struggled to access these services, calling for more localized counseling centers to ensure accessibility.
Leley also revealed that the NPSC has established five regional offices in Mombasa, Garissa, Kakamega, Kisumu, and Nairobi to enhance efficiency and plans to set up five more by 2027.
In addition to mental health concerns, the Committee criticized NPSC for failing to ensure inclusivity in recruitment. The MPs raised issues about tribal imbalances, with only 24 sub-tribes represented in the police force. The Committee also questioned the Commission’s failure to meet the five percent employment quota for persons living with disabilities (PLWDs), with Leley admitting that only three percent of employees were PLWDs.
Despite these shortcomings, the Committee praised NPSC for achieving gender balance in employment, with 135 male and 149 female employees.
The directive underscores the growing awareness of mental health issues within the police service, emphasizing the need for urgent reforms to ensure officers receive adequate psychological support.
