Police administration tackles suicide incidence among personnel

The police administration is tackling the recent incidence of suicide by police personnel of the Ghana Police Service in various parts of the country, the Inspector General of Police, Mr James Oppong Buanuh has said.

In the early part of this year, three police officers of the Ghana Police Service committed suicide in a spate of two weeks, ironically with the weapons that were meant to protect.

The suicide victims were Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Divine Asiam [February 14]; Constable Eugene Yelnon [February 1], and Superintendent Cyprian Zenge [January 30].

To address the alarming incident, Mr Oppong Buanuh said the Police Administration had strengthened its Counselling Unit to be able to cater for the needs of personnel.

He made this known while highlighting aspects of decisions taken at the end of the 2021 National Police Command Conference (NAPOCC) held in the Asuogyaman District, Eastern Region.

This conference was themed "the role of leadership in preventing violent crimes and promoting community safety”.

The NAPOCC is a meeting of senior police officers including the police management board, regional police commanders and directors of sensitive units at the national police headquarters.

It discusses security issues confronting the operational and administrative sectors of each regional police command and strategise on best approaches for combating crime.

Welfare

Going forward, the IGP said the Police Administration would prioritise the welfare needs of personnel to ensure that they were motivated to give off their best.

After admitting that human capital was the most vital asset of every institution, he charged all the 17 regional police commanders to prioritise the welfare of the personnel they work with through promoting their physical and psychological wellbeing.

"We therefore call on our commanders to make priority choices that will prioritise the wellness and safety of personnel, personnel development, professional standards and accountability and relying on community and scientific intelligence led policing," said Mr Oppong Boanuh.

He said he was also confident that police personnel would also give off their best when they were provided with the necessary resources to work.

"I am confident that when police officers are provided with the needed resources they will be happy to do their work whether their salaries have been increased or not. We also recognise that the government is committed to provide us with the necessary logistics such as vehicles and equipment," he said.

Leadership

The IGP said "it will be madness to be doing the same things and expecting a change. Therefore we recognise that we need to do things differently. We need to adopt a comprehensive approach which will move us away from supply driven police to demand driven policing."

In that regard, he said the Police Administration would intensify its community policing concept, enhance police visibility and intensify monitoring, supervision and evaluation.

"We therefore need to collaborate with members of the community and other stakeholders such as agencies of the criminal justice system, the private sector, and civil society and deepen intelligence collaboration so that our policing will live up to expectations."

League table

The IGP announced that a performance league table would be used to assess the regional police commanders and "to ensure a healthy competition among the regions."

As a result, he said, the regional commanders had resolved to zone their jurisdictions to ensure proper supervision and revamp visibility patrol.

He announced that two new Units- the Air Wing Unit and the Canine (K9) Unit had been set up to support police service delivery.

The construction of hangars for the police flying unit had been completed and that the administration was awaiting the arrival of the three helicopters promised by the government.

Mr Oppong Buanuh said the administration recognised that there had been concerns of the public losing trust and confidence in the police while the police had also lost legitimacy.

That, he said, was because "we do policing in communities but we do not involve the members of the community. The administrative strategy is to actively engage the communities to get the information we need to be able to serve them better."

In the coming days, he said the service would trumpet its success stories by chunning out weekly updates of cases, arrests made and successful prosecutions.

The Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, speaking on behalf of the Sector Minister, Mr Ambrose Dery urged the regional commanders to court the friendship of the public in the communities they work.

She commended the Central Regional Commander, Mrs Habiba Yaa A Twumasi-Sarpong for providing a resting area for patrol teams in her region and urged other commands to think outside the box and emulate her example.

She called on them to collaborate with all stakeholders to address the alarming trend of the carnage on the country's roads which was taking a severe toll on lives.

The District Chief Executive of Asuogyaman, Mr Samuel Kwame Agyekum, commended the police for their professionalism which had earned them respect among their peers.

"They are ready to protect lives and property at the peril of their lives," he said.

The Director General in Charge of Administration, Commissioner of Police Dr George Akufo Dampare urged the commanders to show leadership in the fight against crime to keep communities safe.