Ensuring safety and security for all

The Graphic Communications Group Limited has, since July this year, embarked on a safety and security campaign to educate and inform Ghanaians on safety and security issues.

Over the period, the group, through its brands, has engaged security experts to share some perspectives on safety and security issues and created a dedicated safety and security page every Monday in the Daily Graphic.

Our other brands have also consistently written on the subject matter, all in the hope of raising public awareness in the area of safety and security.

As a critical stakeholder, we are also pleased to note that the Ghana Police Service last Tuesday launched its operation to maintain law and order, as well as protect lives and properties, throughout the Yuletide.

It is codenamed “Operation Father Christmas” and 15,000 policemen are to be deployed to ensure incident-free festivities.

Operation Father Christmas is a special exercise triggered by the service every year during the Christmas and New Year festivities to clamp down particularly on criminals.

We want to commend the Police Administration for sustaining this national programme, which often gives hope and assurance to members of the public as they go about their day-to-day activities, including shopping and preparing for the festivities.

There is no doubt that the deployment of policemen under the Police Visibility Project has brought the police closer to the public and reassured them that they could go about their activities without harbouring any fears of being attacked or robbed.

However, we wish to remind the Police Service that its calling is to serve and not to bully or exploit the citizenry.

There have been countless occasions when some bad lots within the service have tarnished the image of the institution by taking advantage of the citizenry to exploit and also maltreat them for the least offences committed.

The Daily Graphic reminds policemen that being polite and educating members of the public can make a more positive impact than just punishing them or abusing them because they are in the wrong.

That is why the institution’s name was changed from Ghana Police Force to the Ghana Police Service.

Let Ghanaians see you as providing service for the nation, rather than being seen solely as law enforcement officers who must enforce the law at all cost.

The Daily Graphic would also like to appeal to the leadership of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) to deploy its personnel during the rush-hour periods to manage the traffic situation.

Oftentimes, motorists are left to the mercy of non-functional traffic lights and heavy traffic situations, resulting in total chaos.

We also use this opportunity to entreat the public to respect  and be decorous to the police as they go about their duties.

We have had situations where some members of the public vent their frustrations on law enforcement officers by raining invectives on them.

Equally, the public must endeavour to take their personal security more seriously and also bear in mind that it is their primary responsibility to do so, since the police alone cannot be everywhere.

The Daily Graphic reminds all that public safety and security is a shared responsibility and we must act our part well, so that the police too can do their work.

Taking precautionary measures for one’s safety and that of his or her family is key to dealing with crime and the preservation of lives and properties.