Judiciary, Police deepen collaboration
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has paid a courtesy call on the Chief Justice, Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, as part of efforts by the police and the judiciary to deepen collaboration for effective justice delivery.
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Dr Dampare, who was accompanied by members of the Police Management Board (POMAB), had an interaction with the Chief Justice and the top hierarchy of the judiciary last Wednesday.
Present at the meeting were some Justices of the Supreme Court - Justices Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Mariama Owusu, Avril Lovelace Johnson, Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, Barbara Ackay-Yensu, Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, George Kingsley Koomson and Ernest Yao Gaewu.
Agenda
Issues of mutual interest discussed at the meeting included delays in the prosecution of cases, enhancing the capacity of police prosecutors, enhancing security for court premises and judicial officers, supervision of police orderlies and shortage of court warrant officers and police prosecutors in certain regions.
Speaking at the opening ceremony before the closed-door meeting, Justice Torkornoo said the police were integral to the work of the judiciary and crucial to the justice delivery system.
She said it was therefore important for all players in the justice delivery chain to talk and collaborate for the best possible outcome in their quest to serve the people of the country.
“The target we are hoping to achieve to further improve the justice delivery system will not be achieved except all the players collaborate and are on the same page, and we close our rank from the practices and postures that will not help us,” she said.
Collaboration
The Chief Justice noted that there was the need for the judiciary and the police to deepen collaboration on training to enhance prosecution, especially in the area of evidence gathering and preservation.
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Another key area of collaboration, she said, was security for court premises and judicial officers to enhance the effective administration of justice.
“Let me touch on deepening the security around the court. In recent times, we have heard of attacks on judges and court personnel.
We can also be looking at little steps to ensure that those attacks totally stop.
“Our work leads to peace, and if we do not have a court functioning in the community then we are creating more distractions, rather than more solutions,” she said.
Justice Torkornoo lauded Dr Dampare for his effective leadership as the IGP and his efforts to change the image and outlook of the police for efficient service delivery to the public.
“I have found your leadership of the police extremely inspirational.
You have achieved a lot in such a short time to rebrand the image of the police and reinforce that the police is a source of integrity, help and protection rather than a source of distraction,” the Chief Justice added.
IGP
For his part, the IGP congratulated Justice Torkornoo on her appointment as the Chief Justice and wished her God’s favour in her endeavours as the Head of the third arm of government.
Dr Dampare said irrespective of their functions, the police and other state institutions were all part of the process of making the country a better place for sustainable development, peace and stability.
In view of that, he noted that the police would continue to collaborate with all state institutions in the interest of the country.
“Ghana our beloved country is only one and we the people must also be one, except that we happen to be functioning in different areas; but we must come together in our diversity to make the nation Ghana a trailblazer in Africa and beyond,” he said.
The IGP said the police were ever ready to engage with all stakeholders to enable the service to understand peculiar problems and find policing solutions that met the expectations of people.
Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh
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