Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has called for hastened adoption of advanced technologies in the administration of correctional services.
The DP said Artificial Intelligence and other modern technological capabilities provide the best platforms to enhance service delivery as well as improve efficiency.
“Artificial intelligence, data analytics, secure digital communication and other emerging technologies offer significant opportunities to improve operational planning, identify service delivery gaps, support rehabilitation programmes and deploy limited resources more effectively,” DP noted.
The Deputy President on Tuesday officially opened the 4th Correctional Service Week in Nairobi underscoring the need for digitally powered creativity anchored in law and tempered with responsible innovation.
“These technologies must be adopted responsibly. Innovation within correctional institutions must uphold human dignity, protect personal information, guard against discrimination and preserve the rights and welfare of people under correctional supervision,” he stated.
To ensure the technological ambitions are not injurious to existing frameworks, Prof. Kindiki asked the State Department of Correctional Services to align its digital initiatives with the National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032, the National E-Commerce Strategy 2023 and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030, alongside other applicable cybersecurity and data-protection frameworks.
Further, he challenged the Department to merge its digital endeavours with dedicated focus on provision of pro-social services including education, vocational training, psychosocial support, restorative justice, family participation and community-based alternatives to imprisonment.
“Our correctional institutions must therefore become not only centres of rehabilitation, but also platforms for skills development, innovation and sustainable production,” he said.
In affirming the Week’s theme: ‘Transforming Correctional Services through Technology and Green Solutions’, the Deputy President underpinned the need to employ climate-friendly strategies in service delivery in correctional facilities across the country.
“Renewable energy, water harvesting and conservation, efficient waste management, climate-smart agriculture, tree growing and environmentally responsible infrastructure should be embraced holistically.
I urge you to develop productive farms, strengthen irrigation and agricultural mechanization, promote appropriate waste-recycling initiatives and expand the use of clean energy,” DP added.
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