Criminal Investigation Department (Kenya)

The Kenya Police Criminal Investigation Department, now referred to as Directorate of Criminal Investigations, is a department of the National Police Service responsible for investigation. The current head is Mr. George Kinoti It is referred to by the initials DCI. It is headed by a Director who reports to the Inspector General of Police. Due to the sensitivity of the position, the Director of the DCI is appointed by the President of Kenya. The DCI headquarters are located on Kiambu Road, Nairobi.

This department is further divided into sub-departments, namely:

Directorates at Headquarters

*Administration Directorate
*Operations Directorate
*Investigation Directorate
*Forensic Directorate
*Crime Research Intelligence Bureau
*National Central Bureau
*Counter Terrorism Centre of Excellence.
*Criminal Intelligence Unit
* Special Service Unit
*Public Complaints
*Inspections
*Logistics
*Reforms
*Legal & Crime Affairs

Formations
*ATPU
*KAPU
*Railways
*DCI Academy

Regional and County Command Level

DCI command spreads out from the Headquarters to regions, counties, sub-counties, and DCI offices in their service provision. At the regional level, there are Regional Criminal Investigations Officers (RCIOs) who are directly responsible to the Director for the effective administration of their respective regions.

In every county, the DCI is headed by a County Criminal Investigation Officer (CCIO) who reports to the RCIO. Under CCIOs are the Sub-County Criminal Investigation Officers (SCCIOs) and Officers in-charge of Sub-offices in crime-prone areas.

There are 8 regional, 47 County Directorate Offices and 3 Formations (ATPU, KAPU, DCI Academy & Railways) and over 297 Sub-counties countrywide. The RCIOs who replaced the former Provincial Criminal Investigations Officers (PCIOs) manage counties within their regions and report to the Director on all matters affecting the Directorate.

Functions of DCI

* To collect and provide criminal intelligence;
* To undertake investigations on serious crimes including homicide, narcotics crimes, human trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, economic crimes, piracy, organized crimes, and cybercrime, among others;
* To maintain law and order;
* To detect and prevent crimes;
* To apprehend offenders;
* To maintain criminal records;
* To conduct forensic analysis.

Completion of Forensic Science Laboratory

Kenya's DCI is tasked primarily with intelligence gathering and evidence collection where crimes of a complex nature have occurred. The accomplishment of the above received a major boost following the completion of the police forensic laboratory.

The over ksh 5.7 forensic lab is fully equipped and staffed at a cost estimated at Ksh. 5.7 billion is located at its headquarters at Mazingira House Kiambu Road.

The Biological, Chemistry, Toxicological, and DNA laboratories are housed in the newly constructed multi-million shillings National Police Service Forensic Laboratory. Detectives have embraced science to solve complex crimes. Detectives are now able to analyze samples collected from the scenes of serious crimes such as murders, attempted murders, hijackings, house robberies, and possession of illegal firearms, a departure from the past.

Directors of Criminal Investigations

See also

* National Intelligence Service

References

Law enforcement in Kenya
Criminal investigation

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