Resource police to provide adequate security – IMANI

The President of the policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, has expressed concern over the logistical challenges faced by the Ghana Police Service, saying the situation is hindering the efforts of the police at providing adequate security in the country.

His comment was in reaction to the recent attack at the Kwabenya District Police Headquarters which led to the killing of a police officer on duty and the freeing of seven inmates, three of whom have since been rearrested.

Following the incident, many have questioned the quality of the country’s security, as the police station in question lacked basic equipment such as closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Apart from the Kwabenya incident, over the years several other policemen have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue, Mr Cudjoe attributed those incidents to logistical challenges, saying the situation had made it impossible for the Police Service to effectively provide security for Ghanaians.

Police personnel

“The police service is in such a decrepit state and I am appalled. I do not think we have a proper police service. We are supposed to have about 52,000 police personnel, but as we speak we have about 38,000. This year, they recruited only 4,000. The armory the Police Service has is Second World War type armory,” he said.

Apart from the logistical challenges, Mr Cudjoe pointed out that another factor that had contributed to the service’s inefficiency is the unfair treatment of police officers over the years, particularly in relation to remuneration.

“We do not have to belabour the point that the Police Service has not been treated properly. The welfare of the police is a serious matter. As we speak, only 6,200 of them are properly accommodated out of the 38,000, so clearly we do not have a service that is befitting to even take care of themselves,” he said.