DCE urges Kwahu Afram Plains North police to redeem image

The District Chief Executive of the Kwahu Afram Plains North District Assembly in the Eastern Region, Mr Windham Emil Afram has called on the police in the area to redeem their image by working as professionals so that the confidence of the people can be restored in them.

He said there was so much suspicion of the police allegedly involved in criminal activities to the extent that, the people in Afram Plains were very apprehensive of the behaviour of some police officers, adding that the suspicion was that there were some others who were also involved in robbery cases, even though there was no evidence to proof.

Speaking in an interview on the standoff between the people in Donkorkrom and the police recently, he said, “What the two police officers have done is unimaginable. They are supposed to be protecting us,” but their conduct left much to be desired.

He described the action of the two policemen as unfortunate, adding, “Again the suspicion is that there are some others who were also involved but were not physically arrested, but we don’t have the evidence because they are not arrested yet.”

Community members concerns

Mr Afram said members of the community had a number of issues with some of the police personnel because there were complaints that the police maltreated suspects and that when items in dispute were sent to the police, they never got back to the owners

He, therefore, appealed to the police in the district to behave professionally to win back the trust and confidence of the people and pledged that “all the same, we will need to continue to interact with the community members to calm down the tension so that we can live amicably.”

Mr Afram said there was no community that could exist without the services of the police and said the leadership of the community would continue to talk to the people to ensure that the police and the people continued to co-exist.

He, therefore, said the frequency of the robbery cases in recent times in the area called for reinforcement of security so that law abiding citizens could go about their daily activities without fear.

Mr Afram, however, said what happened in Donkorkrom was unfortunate, but served as a big lesson for both the people and the police.

Action unacceptable

Mr Afram said irrespective of the provocation, the reaction of the people could not be justified because if they had any issues, there were channels and procedures that they needed to follow.

He said the action of the people was condemnable, even though it was a way to register their disgust about the action of the police.

Mr Afram said the police reported of looting and destruction of property by the irate youth, which was regrettable, adding that it happened that way because the demonstration by the youth was not guided by the police as enshrine in the public order act.

He revealed that the assembly had spent about GHc15,000 to reconstruct the vandalised and burnt down buildings belonging to the police as part of fulfilment of the directives of the Inspector-General of Police during his visit to the town.