‘Tackle problems in abusive relationships’
The Director of Community Policing of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Abiba Twumasi Sarpong, has advised persons in realationships who suffer abuse by their partners to take positive steps to address their problems.
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“When you are abused, you should report the matter to the nearest police station instead of sitting down for such violence to be repeated again and again and suffer in silence,” she said.
Chief Supt Sarpong was addressing members of the Calvary Congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Abesim, near Sunyani, as part of her tour of the Brong Ahafo Region.
Tour of the region
The tour, which has already taken her to other parts of the region, is aimed at educating and creating awareness among the people about the increasing spate of spousal murders in the country and what the people should do to curb the trend.
Chief Supt Sarpong said it was unfortunate that spouses, especially the women, who were repeatedly abused and later pacified with gifts, had their minds conditioned to consider such gifts as “show of love”.
She called on members of the various communities to be one another’s keeper and give the police tip-offs to enable them to step in on time to save spouses who were continuously abused.
Chief Supt Sarpong explained that the Community Policing Department of the Ghana Police Service had adopted a proactive way to constantly engage people in the various communities and groups to educate them about the new trends in crime in the country.
“The police are now proactive and will always go to the people. Ghanaians should be prepared to volunteer information on time by calling 18555 or 191 on Vodafone and MTN,” she said.
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Reporting spousal abuse
Chief Supt Sarpong explained that reporting spousal abuse to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVSSU) did not mean the dissolution of marriages, adding that it was not in all cases that spouses were arrested.
She said in some cases, the spouses were counselled and monitored to curb the perpetuation of such violence.
Answering questions from members of the congregation, Supt Sarpong explained that there was no law requiring the payment of monies before one could seek bail for people who had been arrested by the police.
“You should be aware that both the giver and the receiver of bribes are guilty before the law,” she said.
Wrong perception about the police
She added that the perception that some personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service collected monies from drivers was a dent on the image of the service.
Chief Supt Sarpong said the police administration had already mounted surveillance to ensure that such unscrupulous police personnel were weeded out of the service.
Chief Supt Sarpong called on religious leaders to devote part of their sermon to educating the people to be aware of new trends in crime to enable them to adopt measures to not fall into the traps of criminals.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Police Service, Chief Supt Christopher Tawiah, appealed to the people to consider the police as their friends and not enemies.
The minister in-charge of the church, Reverend Wilberforce Takyi, commended the police for adopting a proactive method to curb crime and expressed the hope that the gesture would not be a nine-day wonder.