Police to clamp down on electoral violence in Asunafo South — IGP

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, has rounded up his three-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region with a pledge to clamp down on electoral violence in the Asunafo South District.

Several acts of political violence were recorded between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) before, during and after the general election at Sankore and its surrounding communities in the Asunafo South District.

In some cases, meetings organised by stakeholders such as the Regional Peace Council, the Regional Security Council and traditional authorities, among others, to resolve the impasse between the two parties sometimes ended in confusion.

Combating political violence in the area is always difficult for the police because of the lack of police stations and limited police personnel, among other factors.

Measures

Interacting with the media after his visit, Mr Asante-Apeatu said measures had been put in place to control political violence and curb armed robbery, clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers among other acts of violence in the country.

Already the regional police command has pledged to beef up security, while plans are underway to construct police barracks in the area to help control political violence before, during and after the elections.

He appealed to the public to provide the police with information that would lead to the arrest of criminals living at places designated as “wee bases” and other criminal hideouts in their communities and assured the public that the confidentiality of informants would be protected.

Corruption and misconduct

Mr Asante-Apeatu said as part of the five thematic areas to transform the Ghana Police Service (GPS), the service was working with anti-corruption agencies to train senior police officers in how to deal with corruption and police misconduct within the service, especially, among the junior officers.

“We did a survey in the GPS and we have realised that if officers are coached and supervised very well it would reduce the misconduct within the GPS, especially among junior officers,” he stated.

He pledged to deal with any police officers who misconducted themselves in the services and urged senior police officers to supervise their subordinates to ensure that the code of conduct governing the service was obeyed.

Mr Asante-Apeatu noted that the current administration of the service was working to erase the perception among the public that policemen were corrupt, and called on the public to support the police to fight the menace, adding that fighting corruption was the collective responsibility of all Ghanaians.

He said strategic plans had been put in place to transform operations of the service into a world-class service delivery, indicating that the desire of the GPS was to be ranked among the top police organisations in the world.

The IGP said staff accommodation was a huge challenge to the GPS and disclosed that the service was partnering with some private developers to provide accommodation for police officers across the country.

During his visit, he inaugurated a new police station for Aworowa in the Techiman Municipality.