Minister asks police to remain neutral, firm
The outgoing Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Ephraim Avea Nsoh, has urged the Ghana Police Service to remain neutral, fair and firm in the discharge of its duty.
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Commending the police personnel for exhibiting a high sense of professionalism and discipline in the region, he said crimes and road traffic accidents reduced within the past year.
He assured the police that the government would continue to provide a conducive atmosphere to enhance their work.
In a message read on his behalf by the Upper West Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Abu Kabiatatu Kasangbata, during the Upper West Regional Police Command WASSA celebration at Wa over the weekend, Dr Avea Nsoh said whereas there were 88 deaths in road traffic accidents in 2012, the number of fatalities reduced to 75 deaths in 2013.
He attributed this to police sensitisation programmes, enforcement of traffic regulation by the MTTU and their visibility throughout the region. He used the occasion to commend the police in the three regions of northern Ghana for their regular patrols which had opened the Wa-Bamboi-Kumasi highway which hitherto had been prone to armed robbery incidents.
Dr Avea Nsoh said police visibility and accessibility programme apart from reducing crimes, was forging a closer relationship between them and the public.
He was, however, not happy with the manner in which people who gave them tip-offs were exposed, adding that policing could best be done by the cooperation of the public, since the criminals lived among them.
The Upper West Regional Police Commander, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Kwesi Mensah Duku, admitted that they could only do proper policing with the assistance of the public and appealed to them to feel free to give them tip-offs when the need arose.
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The Regional Commander cited the recent tip-off which led to the arrest of eight criminals in the area.
He warned the bad lots among them who revealed the identity of their informants, adding that they would be severely dealt with when caught regardless of their ranks.
ACP Kwesi Duku recalled that some of the staff were facing disciplinary measures as a result of misconduct.
He announced that a sod would be cut next week for construction of a new regional police headquarters at Wa which had been on the drawing board for a long time.
He said they had opened a police clinic, which was properly manned to cater for the health care of their staff and the public.
"In a bid to be proactive, the Regional Police Command has extended their post to Dobile, Wa Polytechnic junction, Manho and the University for Development Studies (UDS) while plans are far advanced to mount more of this posts within the municipality and the region as a whole," he said.
Alhaji Yunusah Abdul-Rahaman, the Board Chairman of the Wa All Stars F/C, cautioned the police against betraying their informants, without whom they could not do effective policing. He, however, commended them for their quick response to conflicts which could have threatened the peace prevailing in the region.