Kenya will soon move away from traditional manual police records.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government will introduce the Multi-Biometric Identification System (MBIS).
He made the announcement at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi.
According to Murkomen, the new system will improve police services. It will also make criminal record management easier.
New System to Improve Police Services
Murkomen said MBIS will help security agencies identify criminals faster.
Previously, police could search about 4,500 fingerprints each day.
However, the new system will increase this number to 20,000 searches daily.
In addition, Police Clearance Certificates will now take less than 24 hours to process.
The certificates previously took up to 14 days to be issued.
Murkomen said the system will help prevent criminals from escaping detection.
He added that offenders will no longer take advantage of incomplete records.
Fingerprint and Facial Recognition Technology
For many years, Kenya has used ink and paper to collect fingerprints.
However, this method has affected record management and criminal tracking.
Now, MBIS will combine fingerprint scanning and facial recognition technology.
DCI Director Mohamed Amin said the system will improve investigations.
It will also help officers process biometric information more accurately and quickly.
Additionally, Kenyans will be able to follow the progress of their certificate applications in real time.
Digital System to Support Courts
Meanwhile, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga said MBIS will improve criminal justice operations.
He noted that the manual system made it difficult to confirm offenders’ records quickly.
As a result, prosecutors often faced delays when checking whether suspects were first-time or repeat offenders.
With the new system, courts will access this information instantly.
Therefore, judges will have better information when making sentencing decisions.
More Digital Security Projects Planned
Murkomen said the government will continue investing in technology to improve security.
Additionally, plans are underway to introduce an integrated CCTV Command System.
The system will cover Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Nyeri Town.
It will help security agencies collect real-time information and respond to crime faster.
The government also plans to launch a Digital Occurrence Book (Digital OB).
The system will help authorities identify crime trends and map areas affected by different offences across the country.
