Special police force to fight terrorism in the offing — Prez
The government has given authorisation for the formation of a special police force devoted specifically to handling counter-insurgency and terrorism, President John Dramani Mahama has said.
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Speaking at the Ghana Police Service annual get-together, popularly known as the West Africa Security Service Association (WASSA), at the Police Headquarters in Accra last Friday, the President urged the Police Council to expedite action on the formation of the force, which he said was necessary under the current circumstances.
He explained that the scourge of terrorism was getting closer to the country — evidence of that being what was happening in Nigeria with Boko Haram, as well as Mali and, recently, Burkina Faso.
“We cannot sit and think that Ghana is immune from the scourge of terrorism and so we must be ready to confront any incident that may arise,” he said.
Support
President Mahama mentioned the various initiatives taken by the government to equip the Ghana Police Service to discharge its work effectively.
He said, for instance, that over the past few years, more than 1,400 vehicles had been supplied to the police, with almost 100 of them being high-performing vehicles.
He promised that action would be taken to replenish the fleet as and when necessary.
This year, for instance, he said, the procurement process had started to provide the police with additional vehicles.
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That had become necessary because of the general election, during which much would be expected from the police.
He said besides that limited recruitment would be undertaken this year to boost the number of the personnel.
He said the police-population ratio, which used to be 1:1,000 plus, had improved to 1:727.
The United Nations (UN) recommended standard is 1:500 and President Mahama stated that everything would be done to attain that standard.
He urged the police to work with the other security agencies to ensure that the general election passed peacefully.
Negative attitude
While commending the police for excelling in their duties last year, he threw his weight behind the Police Administration in weeding out the bad lots among the service.
“There has been a massive improvement in policing in the country. Crime levels have reduced,” he said.
But he was unhappy about the negative attitude of some personnel.
He said in an era of technology, the police must be wary of their conduct in public.
“I always get a heartbreak when I see a picture of a policeman circulating on social media that is not reflective of the high image of the service,” the President said.
He mentioned, for instance, a picture of a female officer with a bottle of beer in her mouth which had been circulating on social media and said that was distasteful.
“So anytime you are in uniform and in public, please remember that anybody can take a picture of you in a situation that will create embarrassment for the whole service,” he told the police.
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Emergency command centre
President Mahama mentioned the Ghana Emergency Command Centre that had been established in Accra and said it would aid the police and other security agencies in their work.
The centre, which allows for intelligence gathering, has CCTV installed from where one can sit to monitor what is going on in the capital city.
He said 1,000 more CCTVs would be installed across the country to widen surveillance.
IGP
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr John Kudalor, said the crime rate in the country had reduced.
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For instance, he said, robbery cases which stood at 1,160 in 2014 reduced to 1,011 in 2015, while rape cases dropped from 514 to 415.
He gave an assurance that the police would rise to the challenge in this election year.
Mr Kudalor commended the government for the immense support it continued to offer the police to deliver.