Ngleshie Amanfrom gets neighbourhood watch c’ttee
A community neighbourhood watch committee has been inaugurated to complement the efforts of the police in providing security for residents of Ngleshie Amanfrom and its environs, near Kasoa in the Greater Accra Region.
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The move follows a series of robberies in Amanfrom and some surrounding communities.
Through police intervention and the efforts of some residents, a number of the suspected robbers have been arrested.
Advice
Speaking at the inauguration of the 25-member neighbourhood watch committee, the Director of the Community Policing Department of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mrs Habiba Twumasi Sarpong, urged the members to desist from acts that would infringe on the rights of the people they were to protect.
She also urged them not to mete out instant justice to any suspect they arrested in the course of their patrols, and that they should also not form kangaroo courts.
The neighbourhood watch committee, she explained, was in fulfilment of Section 41 (i) of the 1992 Constitution, which enjoined all citizens to cooperate with the lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order in the country.
Community policing, Mrs Twumasi Sarpong said, had over the years proved to be an effective strategy in fighting crime.
That, she explained, was “because most crimes are committed in the communities and it is easy to fight crime through the neighbourhood watch initiative”.
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She said although the police had the skills and ability to fight crimes and were better equipped, citizens’ involvement was significant in the fight against crime.
“Citizens support the police by giving timely and credible information. I believe with the inauguration of this committee, the nightmare of residents of Ngleshie Amanfrom who have experienced a series of armed robberies will be a thing of the past,” she added.
Joint patrols
The Amanfrom District Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Mr Daniel Dzaka, said the formation of the watch committee was necessary, “since the police cannot be everywhere”.