Ashanti Region leads in robbery cases

Kumasi, June 13, GNA - Out of 234 robbery cases reported in the country during the second quarter between April 1 and June 11, Ashanti Region had 130 cases representing 55.5 per cent.

Greater Accra Region following with 67 cases representing 28.6 per cent while no robbery case was recorded in Upper West and Volta Regions. Dr Kofi Kesse Marfo, Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Operations announced this at a meeting with 54 Police Officers in the region in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The meeting was to institute measures to curb robbery in the region.

Dr Marfo said the robberies were categorized under car snatching, street, residential, workplace and highway robberies. He said Ashanti Region took the lead in all of them except workplace robbery in which Ashanti had five out of the reported 15 cases.

Dr Marfo asked the police officers to re-strategise to bring the menace that was high in urbanized and densely populated areas down and respond quickly to reported criminal attacks.

He cautioned police officers in the region against giving directives to their subordinates without supervision on the field and asked them to be proactive on criminal matters.

"Do not wait for crimes to be committed before you find solutions," he added.

Dr Marfo appealed to the police officers not to delegate in the discharge of their duties but ensure they supervised their subordinates even when they had been delegated to perform some duties. He asked them to visit duty checkpoints regularly to make sure personnel did not vacate their post and if possible be in-charge of sensitive duty posts.

"With such actions, you would be able to give the right directives to your subordinates in the fight against crime."

"Do not sit in your offices, do not be swivel chair commanders assuming that the work could be delivered," he added.

Dr Marfo expressed concern about the current spate of instant justice and lynching of suspected criminals and blamed the police for those acts saying; "The public has lost confidence in the ability of the police to fight crime."