TEMA Election Security Task force inaugurated
An election security task force has been set up in the Tema region to see to the smooth and peaceful conduct of the November general election.
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The task force, which draws its membership from the security agencies and other institutions, are made up of persons from the military, police, Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Fire and Immigration services- the Electoral Commission National Commission, for Civic Education, and Information Services, Department. It is to coordinate all security activities related to the election.
This is to ensure that the prevailing peace and security of the region is maintained before, during and beyond the general election.
The Tema region covers six political assemblies, namely Tema Metropolis, Ashaiman Municipality, Kpone-Katamanso, Shai-Osudoku, Ada East and Ada West District Assemblies.
Election security planning
Already, the Police Administration in Tema has carried out a thorough assessment of the threats associated with the electioneering and based on this has formulated a draft operations manual to guide its operations.
Aside from the Regional Election Security Task Force, a number of structures have been put in place to facilitate an incident-free election.
These structures include the establishment of a Regional Election Desk which will monitor all election-related issues in the region, analyse same and document them to inform decision making and police operations and the creation of a Joint Operations Centre.
The operations centre will provide the platform for coordinating all election-related police operations.
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Deployment
To ensure effective policing during the polls, the police administration in the region has formulated a three-tier deployment strategy.
The first tier deployment will involve front line personnel deployed to the various polling stations and collation centres.
The second level is the patrol and monitoring teams to provide prompt reinforcement to the first-tier deployment when the need arises while the third level will see stand-by teams tasked to provide support in the event the situation overwhelms the first two levels of deployment.
Capacity building
Already, the Tema Regional Police Command is building the capacity of its personnel in public order management and crowd control ahead of the 2016 general election.
The first batch of 200 personnel has already benefited from the programme while additional personnel from the police service and other security agencies are scheduled to have their capacity built.
Inauguration
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (DCOP), Mr Paul N. M. Awini, said similar task forces would be formed at the district levels with similar mandates to ensure that the election was free and fair.