NAIROBI, Kenya- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has concluded a two-day Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) sensitisation programme for Administration Police Service (APS) recruits as part of efforts to strengthen the National Police Service’s capacity to tackle terrorism and radicalisation.
The training, held at the APS-LII Field Training Camp in Meru, was facilitated by officers from the Directorate of Countering Violent Extremism and focused on preparing recruits to identify, prevent and respond to emerging extremist threats.
According to the DCI, the programme equipped recruits with practical skills to recognise radicalisation patterns, understand the evolving tactics used by extremist groups and enhance their ability to protect communities from recruitment into violent extremist networks.
The sessions covered a range of topics, including radicalisation pathways, recruitment methods, protective security awareness, identification of suspicious persons and activities, and Kenya’s changing violent extremism landscape.
The recruits were also trained on terrorist financing, with facilitators highlighting funding channels such as illicit cross-border trade, money laundering, illegal business operations, extortion of local businesses and the growing use of digital financial platforms to finance extremist activities.
In addition, participants were taken through Kenya’s legal and policy framework on countering violent extremism and the role of the National Police Service in preventing and responding to terrorism-related threats.
During the training, Chief Inspector Mugambi urged the recruits to remain alert throughout their careers, warning that radicalisation can affect anyone.
He encouraged them to uphold integrity, exercise sound judgment and remain vigilant as they prepare for deployment across the country.
The DCI said the programme is part of a broader initiative to strengthen counter-radicalisation capacity among newly recruited police officers before they begin active service.
The directorate has already conducted similar sensitisation sessions for General Service Unit (GSU) recruits and is extending the programme to APS and Kenya Police Service (KPS) recruits under the ongoing nationwide capacity-building initiative.
The DCI reaffirmed its commitment to working with partner agencies to institutionalise counter-radicalisation training within police recruit curricula as part of intelligence-led and community-based efforts to protect Kenyans from terrorism and violent extremism.