Erring policemen will face sanctions - Regional Commander warns

The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr George Alex Mensah, has warned that the Police Administration will not spare any police officer whose actions will bring the image of the police service into disrepute.

His statement came on the heels of a recent incident in which a policeman, Lance Corporal Frederick Amanor Godzi, was captured on video assaulting a woman carrying a two-month-old baby in a banking hall.

The incident generated public outcry after the video went viral, and the policeman has since been arrested and is standing trial at the Accra Circuit Court.

Mr Mensah was speaking at the annual West African Security Services Association (WASSA) of the Tesano Divisional Police Command in Accra.

Making reference to that incident, DCOP Mensah said, "In the past few weeks, the police have been in the news for the unfortunate misconduct of one person. The act of a single policeman has affected the entire service. A single bad nut has spoilt the whole soup."

He, however, urged the personnel not to be discouraged by the backlash from the public but rather work hard to regain the lost image.

DCOP Mensah advised the police personnel to show respect to the public, adding that respect was reciprocal.

Bad lots

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikoi North, Mr Fuseini Issah, who chaired the function, urged the Police Administration to sanitise the service by eliminating all the bad lots in the service.

He said when that was done, the service would be able to work towards regaining its lost glory.

He was of the view that until the negative image currently gained by the Ghana Police Service was dealt with, it would affect the performance of the personnel in the discharge of their duties.

"In every house, there is a ‘Mensah’ but that ‘Mensah’ must not be encouraged to spoil the image of the house," he said.

Mr Issah commended the officers and men of Tesano Command for working hard to ensure that peace and security in the area was intact.

Crime rate

In a welcome address, the Tesano Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Mr Oduro Amaning, said the crime situation in the area at the end of the July 2018 had reduced by 40 per cent compared to that of 2017.

In July 2017, he said, 1,424 cases were reported to the command as against 1,016 in the same period in 2018.

The situation, he explained, was as a result of the frequent swoops on criminal dens within the division and the intensification of day and night patrols.