 Throughout the 1960s AP was rapidly deployed regularly to fight the shifta menace in North Eastern Kenya.It was deployed to curb rampant poaching in the 1970s and 80s.It was also deployed to combat lawlessness in the northern Rift Valley region in the 1980s
The RDU was initially composed of officers seconded from other divisions, as well as APTC (Administration Police Training College) staff and coursemen to specifically counter certain hostilities.