Yohuno cannot afford to disappoint
Some of the major problems that have bedevilled the Ghana Police Service have been patronage, favouritism and political interference.
Patronage becomes the gateway to progress in the Service, with professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline thrown to the dogs. The result has always been morale at its lowest ebb.
Besides those internal challenges, Ghanaian society had to grapple with an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes, which had created so much fear and panic in the system.
Issues of politicisation, arbitrary promotions and disregard for seniority, unfair postings and breaches of professional conduct have cast shadows over the service’s credibility.
Indeed, there are many officers, both junior and senior, who feel sidelined and demoralised due to neglect by the Police Administration, while members of the public feel unheard and unprotected.
IGP’s task
Therefore, whoever ascends the leadership of the Service as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is expected to redeem the sunken image of the service.
This requires that an IGP should be principled, a disciplinarian, an inspirer and a fair-minded person who can command the service.
This is where the crime buster, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, comes in at this time of the government’s resetting agenda.
The quiet and unassuming Mr Yohuno is well-known for rewarding hard work. He seeks to bring down criminals and maintain law and order in a manner that surprises many.
Interestingly, in all his successes, he credits and motivates his personnel who help him achieve his targets. No wonder his appointment as IGP was greeted with pomp among the rank and file of the Service.
Mr Yohuno has the golden opportunity to demonstrate his competence and capability to justify the President’s trust in him.
The IGP must guard against being pushed to the gutters by patronage but focus on the welfare and performance of the Service, as these carry moral and legal weight for him to succeed.
Many of us expect the IGP to re-establish the trend in robbery cases and the use of particular brands of vehicles in robberies.
To the ordinary citizen, the time response of the police to distress calls, particularly violent crime, also reduced and which often resulted in the exchange of fire between the police and the robbers, would be used to assess Mr Yohuno.
Teamwork
Many personnel and civil society expect the IGP to demonstrate his expertise in identifying the weaknesses in the system, teamwork and planning to attain the highest levels of efficiency in the Ghana Police Service.
Many expect Mr Yohuno to focus on the strategic direction of an organisation, and to effect and implement realistic change management mechanisms aimed at meeting self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) objectives.
President’s task
Whatever the case may be, the President also has a responsibility to make the IGP succeed.
During the inauguration of the Police Council on June 10, 2025, President John Mahama urged the members to prioritise community policing, accountability and public trust in their oversight role.
While reminding members of the Council to foster professionalism, fairness and discipline within the service to strengthen public confidence in law enforcement, the Executive must keep to its word by not interfering in the work of the Police Administration.
As he said, the time has come for the service to reset itself and regain the confidence of the Ghanaian public, as “true security exists only when citizens feel safe to go about their daily activities.”
These words of encouragement should not remain mere words but be put into action by not interfering in the day-to-day work of the Police.
The President and, for that matter, the government, must ensure that the resources needed for success are readily available.
Although all the problems cannot be immediately resolved, issues of accommodation, logistics vis-a-vis communication gadgets and vehicles, and insurance for personnel should be given serious thought.
Aside from unemployment, the greatest challenge to fighting crime in the country is the sprawling neighbourhoods where there are no police stations.
Also, ‘unmotorable’ roads to those new development communities are usually quiet day and night.
Therefore, more vehicles must be provided to increase patrols in those areas.
Police accountability
The accountability mechanism could be further strengthened by the establishment of an independent body to handle complaints made against the Police.
The present arrangement where the Police virtually has to investigate itself through the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) is rather outmoded and ridiculous.
Some officers, particularly the junior ranks, often accused the PIPS of always using junior officers as the benchmark of performance, while offending senior officers are left off the hook. Should that be the case?
This is where some call for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), or Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to oversee the complaints system against police personnel.
Its primary responsibility is to investigate complaints and appeals against police misconduct, to increase public trust in the police.
Mr Yohuno cannot afford to disappoint the President and the whole personnel of the service who see him as someone to turn around the fortunes of the service.
