Police, Immigration build capacity in counter-terrorism

Some officers and men of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) have undergone a joint counter-terrorism training exercise to build their capacity in weapon handling, shooting skills, will power and speed.

The 191 participants were also taken through Taekwondo (unarmed combat) lessons, advanced weapon and firing techniques, tactical progression, vehicle search and crowd control.

The rest were mountaineering, navigation and rapid response and rescue operation exercises on land and in water.
The three-week intensive training exercise, which has since ended at Huhunya in the Eastern Region, was codenamed: High Risk Operation Survival.

Commendation

The Head of Border Management at the GIS, Commissioner of Immigration (COI) Isaac Owusu Mensah, who addressed the participants at the closing ceremony, commended them for their determination, discipline and display of professionalism throughout the training programme.

He said a once peaceful West African sub-region was gradually being consumed by terrorism and terrorist-related activities, for which reason Ghana had to hold itself in readiness to prevent any possible attacks, adding: “The training of officers and men of the two security services is, indeed, timely.”

COI Mensah said the decision by the management of the GIS to decentralise its newly formed Rapid Response Unit across the regional commands was to enable the unit to respond quickly to any possible terror attack at the country’s frontiers.

He expressed gratitude to the authorities of the Police Service for the training given to the officers and men of the GIS.

Advice

The Director-General in charge of Operations of the GPS, Commissioner of Police (COP) Alex Mensah, urged the beneficiaries to be alert, creative and analytical in tackling the menace of modern-day crime because the modus operandi of perpetrators kept changing.

“You are going out to serve a highly critical public that expect more innovative ways of handling security,” he said.

He also admonished them to be disciplined at all times, read and imbibe the principles outlined in the service instructions manual to enhance their output.