Ashanti North Police receives support to set up anti-human trafficking unit
The International Justice Mission (IJM), an international organisation, has provided essential support to the Ashanti North Regional Police command to set up an anti-human trafficking unit.
The support included the refurbishment of the entire office, including the provision of laptop computers, office stationery and the provision of a motorbike to assist the officers in carrying out their mandate.
At a ceremony to inaugurate the unit, the National Director, Advocacy and Partnerships, IJM, Worlanyo Kojo Forster, said the organisation thought it wise to assist the newly established police regional command with a dedicated desk to be able to deal with issues of human trafficking.
He noted that issues of human trafficking had become complicated and sophisticated, and that it was important for law enforcement agencies, such as the police service, to be provided with the necessary support to combat it."
He said the police service needed to be adequately resourced and equipped to be in a better position to fight against human trafficking in the country and expressed optimism that the new office would motivate the officers in the discharge of their work.
“Most often, it is very discouraging to work without the needed support in terms of logistics.
As an organisation, we hope that our support will boost the morale of the police officers to professionally deal with human trafficking,” he stated.
Timely support
Addressing the ceremony, the Ashanti North Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Felix Apedo, welcomed the timely support from IJM and assured the organisation that the office would be put to good use.
Hitherto, he mentioned that the command did not have a dedicated office to deal with issues of human trafficking, compelling them to rely on nearby commands, adding, “Henceforth, we can respond to matters relating to human trafficking”.
Training
In a related development, IJM has organised a four-day intensive training on human trafficking for 40 police officers within the Ashanti North Regional Police Command to build their capacity in the performance of their duties.
The participants were taken through trauma-informed care and how they could do proper investigations in human trafficking cases, dealing with technicalities to achieve favourable prosecution.
In an interview with the media, Mr Worlanyo said the training’s objective was to improve the knowledge of the police officers to enable them to better protect all people, especially against human trafficking.
“As a country, one of the things we can do is to build the capacity of our law enforcement officers who are part of the criminal justice system to make them abreast of the current trends,” he said.
Funding
On funding, he appealed to the government to increase the human trafficking fund from the current GH¢1million, saying, “In our estimation, we need about GH₵4million to be able to provide the needed care and support to trafficked victims”.
“I wish to urge the government and other stakeholders to create an avenue for individuals to contribute to the fund so that enough funds can be raised to tackle issues of human trafficking in the country,” he stated.
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