Engage communities to achieve peace after polls - WANEP

The West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) has urged the Ghana Police Service to do more in its quest to ensure peace before, during, and after the December polls by engaging communities.

Interior Minister Prosper Bani, who addressed journalists in Accra on Tuesday October 25, cautioned the media to desist from giving credence to the various vigilante groups in the country.

He assured the public that the Police Service would remain vigilant before, during, and after the December polls.

Meanwhile speaking to Class News, the Executive Director of WANEP, Chukwuemeka Eze, said maintaining peace in the country is a collective responsibility, hence the Police Service should be engaging communities in order to achieve the goal.

“Security is a collective effort which means they should do more beyond what they are doing internally as police. They also need to reach out to the communities, and reaching out to the communities on one part is to assure them and reassure them and provide that confidence that is lacking in some places,” he stated.

“On the other hand, allow the communities to be part and parcel of the community policing in which case the community is able to provide useful information so that the police is ahead of crime that could be committed before, during, and after the election. In so doing, especially through community-based early warning systems, the police becomes more result- oriented.”