Lewa maintains a legally armed wildlife protection unit to ensure the safety of its wildlife, with special emphasis to rhinos.

The armed unit consist of 19 Kenya Police Reservists (KPR), seconded from the Kenya Police and who are employed by Lewa. They carry G3 automatic weapons and have the legal status to follow up incidents of insecurity, both inside Lewa and in outlying areas (when called upon), in close collaboration with local Government agencies.

There are three teams, where two armed mobile teams patrol the Conservancy and provide vital surveillance and firepower when necessary. The third team is stationed at Lewa headquarters, as a rapid reaction team, for any emergency call-out 24 hours a day. These teams work hand in hand with the Lewa Tracker Dog Unit.

The armed rangers are involved in follow-ups on a regular basis to incidents of cattle rustling, road banditry, poaching incidents, general robbery and insecurity. They are regularly called upon by Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Police and Anti Stock Theft Units and have in the past been deployed, with success, to many parts of the country. Currently, the Lewa KPR teams, are regularly deployed to carry out anti-poaching patrols in Solio Game Reserve and Ol Pejeta Conservancy.