Security Analyst and Director of the Academic Affairs and Research faculty at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Professor Kwesi Aning, believes the acting Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare needs to spearhead some institutional reforms in the service if he wants to prevail over crime in the country.
His comments come on the heels of reports of violent crimes recorded in parts of the country in recent times, and the assurances by the Ghana Police Service to combat same.
Speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV, Professor Kwesi Aning said “Dr. Dampare is being presented with a number of challenges. One is the institutional culture of the Police Service itself, in which the citizenry is not seen as collaborators in fighting crime, and in getting intelligence.”
He charged the acting IGP to seek to leave behind a lasting legacy of a safe environment for all Ghanaians.
“Collaboratively we can help the new IGP to become successful. He needs hands-on operational participation in the work of his men, language of his men, consistency. He has started well by following the traffic as a way of setting an example where his own life is symbolic of the law. Leadership is by example.”
“What he should do is to believe in building epistles that when he retires, he can walk down the street or drive through the streets in the evening and feel safe. We want him to develop a Ghana that is secure, a Police Service that is competent, friendly, seeks collaboration and is proactive. I think he has started already by paying visits to his men on the beat, unannounced.”
Data from the Statistics Research and Monitoring Unit (SRMU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service indicates that some 306 murder cases have been reported to the police from January 1 to June 30 this year.
The Acting Director-General of the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, has assured that the Ghana Police Service is working to ensure peace and security in areas receiving attention because of violent crime.
As part of their strategy to combat crime, he said the police is deploying anti-robbery task forces in certain hotspots.
The Upper East Region, for example, recently got a 24-hour regional highway patrol unit to check violent crime on roads.
To help regional police commands deal with crime, ACP Ofori said the police administration is also working to build their capacities.