The origins of the Administration Police Service (APS) can be traced back to around 1902 with the enactment of the Village Headman Ordinance. The ordinance, which was enacted to enable the penetration of the native areas, was ostensibly to bring the native into the money economy, enforce tax, control livestock movement, and regulate agriculture, labor, movement of people and various other social and economic regulations.
Under 2010 Constitution Administration Police Service is established under article 243 of the constitution. The service keeps delivering sustainable growth in service deliver. To make Kenya safest place is our duty while offering protective policing. Our mission is to extend this trajectory into the future and turn Administration Police Service into a leading regional and global police service.
We continue to face new challenges while executing our duties, in the same measure we invent new way of handling emerging threats like terrorism, drug trafficking, cattle rustling, human trafficking, cybercrime any many more.
In order to overcome these challenges, the service has undergone an organizational transformation that includes initiatives such as restructuring, ICT compliance, modernization and continuous training locally and abroad these improvements enable us to become faster at identifying and addressing shifts in the operations.
We thank our Government and partners (local and international) for the continued support. We shall remain fully committed to strengthening our capabilities and to further evolving the service going forward as we are serving kenyans.
Currently the service offer protective policing after restructuring of National Police Service, which eradicated duplication of duties and hence we operate within specialized units. It is essential that we aligned our services to meet citizenry needs. Administration police service operate in the following units.
1) BORDER POLICE UNIT
Border police unit (BPU) is a unit entrusted with border security, they have various camp across the country and especially the border hotpots. The officers in this unit are highly trained locally and international on how to protect internal and external border. The unit works hand in hand with our sister service and other friendly services.
BPU officers are highly trained and equipped, through this unit the National Police Service has been able to deal with intractable security problems along and within our borders. The unit is an integral part of Kenya multi-agency team. We have been able to neutralize terror group within our border.
2) RAPID DEPLOYMENT UNIT
The Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) is a specialized unit of the Administration Police Service that deals with riot and crowd control situations community conflict management and rescue.
RDU is an elite unit highly trained on rescue and timely response to a distress within our country. Through RDU we have been able to restore peace in some of worrying community.
3) ANTI STOCK THEFT UNIT
Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) is a unit that was hived from our sister service Kenya police service to join our administration police service. The unit is specialized and deals with cattle rustling problems among our pastoralist communities. The unit breeds horses and dogs in the entire national police service.
The unit has a well-established school for training its officers where a vigorous training is offered. Through ASTU the service has been able to achieve its mandate. Stock theft has been a thorny issue in arid and semi areas where the unit has suppressed the vice. Thousands of stocks have been recovered. The unit deploys officers in companies to pastoralist community’s counties.
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION UNIT
Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) was established in year 2016 to protect and safeguard National government infrastructures and vital installations. Administration police service realized the growth of National Government development agenda hence trained its officer on infrastructural protective duties. CIPU has deployed officers down to sub county level to offer security.
4) SECURITY OF GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY
Security of Government Buildings & VIP Protection Unit was established way back in 1977 primarily to provide security to Government Buildings within the then Nairobi Province. By then the unit was known as Government Buildings Security (GBS).The unit changed its name from Government Buildings Security (GBS) to Security of Government Buildings – Unit (SGB – Unit) in 1978 and the status of the unit was at Sub- Unit level under the command of the Officer Commanding (OC) upto 1992.
Thereafter, the title of the Unit Commander was changed from Officer Commanding to Commanding Officer up to 2005 which was subsequently upgraded to Commandant to date.
The Unit has made progress in several areas of operation and they include growth in personnel, expansion of its core functions, accommodation and other support services.