Crime statistics drop significantly - Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has said the crime statistics dropped by more than 5,000 cases between 2010 and 2014.

He said this downward trend was expected to continue through this year and beyond.

President Mahama announced this in his State of the Nation address to Parliament, in Accra, on Tuesday.

He, however, said the Police needed the support and collaboration of the citizenry in making cities, villages, and places of work safer and more peaceful.

He said currently the numerical strength of the Police Service had moved from 23,204 in 2012 to 30,635 in 2014.

“This has resulted in a current Police-Population ratio of 1:784 as against 1:1,100 in 2010,” he explained.

President Mahama said this had brought the country closer to the United Nations’ benchmark of 1:500.

He said it had also led to an increase in police visibility and accessibility, which were key prerequisites in crime prevention, detection and control.

He said the Government had intensified efforts at positioning the country’s security agencies to adequately respond to contemporary security challenges.

This, he said, was done through the biggest retooling of the agencies in recent Ghanaian history.

He said for the first time in Ghana’s history a Marine Police Unit had been established and equipped with modern speedboats to police the country’s territorial waters.

“In addition, a number of critical logistics such as bulletproof vests and riot control gear had been procured for the Police Service,” he said.

He commended the Service Commanders, Officers and Men of the Armed Forces for their valour and dedication to duty in the defence of the territorial integrity of Ghana.

He also commended them for their humanitarian service through Peacekeeping Missions and specifically the unique role they played together with other security agencies to facilitate the establishment of the United Nations Mission on the Ebola Emergency Response.

He said the country would continue the programme of retooling and reequipping the Armed Forces with the appropriate instruments and platforms to enable them to carry out their constitutional mandate.

In this regard, vehicles, helicopters, aircrafts, armoured personnel carriers, and other ordinance were being procured to enhance the capacity of the forces both internally and externally, he said.