Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to preside over this year's passing out parade of the General Service Unit Recruits. I am informed that 1,400 recruits assembled here in August last year to commence their training and today we have 1,299 of that number graduating.

I take this opportunity to congratulate the graduands who successfully completed the rigorous paramilitary training.

As your deployment to various parts of the country commences, I would like to urge you to utilize well the knowledge and skills you have acquired in the cause of your training. As you are aware, your training was conducted in two phases.

In the first phase, you were taken through theoretical police work. In the second part, your training comprised the practical aspects of police work. The purpose of this broad training is to ensure we have well rounded police officers capable of meeting the expectations of modern day policing.

Indeed, with the quality training you have undergone, I am confident that you will offer professional services to the nation without fear, favour or bias. I call upon you to uphold the highest degree of professionalism, integrity and discipline.

It is critical that every police officer does everything that it takes to protect the image of the police service, so as to inspire public trust and confidence that Kenyans so much desire to give in return for the professional service of their police officers.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I should point out at this stage that crimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated as the world becomes a knowledge and information based society. It is, therefore, important that officers keep abreast with emerging trends of crime.

This underscores the need for continuous training in order to equip our officers with the tools needed to ensure the security of our nation.
Indeed our country is at the moment facing various security challenges ranging from criminal gangs, to commercial cattle rustling gangs and many other types of criminals. As a Government, we will not allow any individual or group of individuals to break the law with impunity.

We will firmly deal with criminals in accordance with the law and will rely on the police force to achieve this objective. I, therefore, urge officers at all levels to perform their duties with dedication to ensure there is law and order throughout the country. We must be a nation where our people observe the rule of rule. We must also be a people who respect the sanctity of human life and appreciate the right of every individual to own property, work or live in any part of the country. We must also be people who do not destroy public property in the name of protests.

As police officers, you are charged with the duty of maintaining law and order, prevention and detection of crime as well as ensuring protection of lives and property in various parts of the country. I commend the police for the service they continue to render and encourage you to work even harder because you play a critical role in safeguarding our people, their property, and their right to live and work in an orderly society within the rule of law.

Ladies and gentlemen,
My government will continue providing the necessary support to the entire police. This includes increased intake at our colleges and the provision of funds to enable you acquire modern security equipment.

In the meantime, and to further improve policing, I urge members of our police service to increasingly partner with the public in the spirit of community policing. Members of the public know their neighbourhoods. They hold crucial information on security, which can assist in apprehending criminals and in preventing crime.
Indeed, community policing will enhance public confidence and trust in police ability to fight crime, improve crime reporting, and ultimately reduce the rate of crime.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Provision of security and maintenance of law and order are important in the creation of a conducive environment for social-economic development as outlined in VISION TWENTY THIRTY. This is the reason that my Government has continued to implement major reforms intended to strengthen our security apparatus. Particular emphasis has been placed on providing adequate resources for accelerated improvement of police welfare through adequate remuneration, decent housing, continuous training, promotion based on merit, effective communication as well as improved transport and other relevant infrastructure critical for effective performance of your work.

As part of my Government's commitment to carrying out comprehensive reform process in the police force, I appointed a National Task Force on Police Reforms early this month with the aim of modernizing and transforming the Police into a world class policing service.
I urge the stakeholders to submit their views and recommendations to the task force.

In conclusion, I once again congratulate the officers passing out today and wish them the very best in their new career. I also commend the instructors for a job well done in training today's graduands and urge you to keep up the good work.

I also take this opportunity to commend the officers of the General Service Unit and the entire leadership of the police force for their work.
I wish the families gathered here today journey mercies as they travel back to their homes.

Thank you and God bless you all.