Establish an independent police complaint commission to deal with unfair treatment of citizens - Security Policy Expert

A Security Policy Expert at the Centre for Security Dialogue and Peace Advocacy, Anthony Acquaye, has called for the establishment of an independent Police Complaint Commission to deal with the unfair treatment of some police officers against citizens.

The call by the expert is on the back of a recent incident of police brutality captured in a viral video, showing a police officer dragging a suspect on the ground with a belt tied around his neck in Kumawu Dadease, Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region.

In a statement dated July 28, 2023, Acquaye argued that to ensure greater trust and transparency in the police service, there is a need for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaint Commission, similar to those in countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Such a commission, he said, would investigate cases of police misconduct and ensure appropriate disciplinary actions are taken against those found guilty.

“As a country, for how long must we wait for such unfortunate treatment by some police officers against ordinary civilians to continue without proper investigation done to ascertain who is guilty to allow the law to take its cause? Even though the Police Professional Standard Bureau (PPSB), has been established to investigate complaints from the public against Police Officers on instances of malfeasance and any other act of omission, there has been a lot of doubt of biases to favour their own in the mind of the public on the outcome of the Bureau's investigations due to the representation of same police officers who constitute the PPSB.

“In view of this, it is imperative for parliament to put in a bill to establish an Independent Police Complaint Commission to investigate all unfortunate issues that break out between Police Officers and civilians and ensure disciplinary actions against the culprits, just as is done in South Africa, United Kingdom (UK), Australia and many other countries,” part of the statement.

According to him, what happened in Kumawu is an eyesore and it must be addressed with all seriousness and urgency.

The security expert indicated that in many jurisdictions, police officers are not allowed to use excessive force in making any arrest, rather just a minimum amount of force.

“Generally, in many other jurisdictions, Police Officers are not allowed to use excessive force in making any arrest, which is universal and protected by the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana, but rather just a minimum amount of force is allowed by the Police to use as a means of self-defence to send the suspect to police custody,” it continued.

He pointed out that victims of police brutality often face challenges in reporting these incidents and getting justice.

According to him victims who manage to report the case to the police are frustrated such that they are not able to follow the case to the letter.

“There are numerous horrible incidents of this nature, that have occurred in time immemorial and to date, nothing has been done seriously about them. Persons who encounter such cruel treatment from some police officers are mostly left to their faith, because they do not know the appropriate department to go to, and even the few who boldly report the case to the police, end up not following the case anymore due to the wriggling attitude by police officers in charge of the case,” the expert noted.

Acquaye also expressed concerns over the credibility of reports released by the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service in response to incidents of police brutality.

He questioned the accuracy and transparency of these reports, which sometimes fail to accurately reflect the true nature of the events captured in viral videos of police brutality.

“The next action that comes to attention, is a fabricated statement or report from the Public Affairs Department of Ghana Police Service released into the public domain to defend their own or to put the public into anticipation of an investigation which ends up with no result. Shockingly, these reports in many shapes or forms mostly, do not give the true reflection of what might have been seen in the viral video. This action rises a lot of doubts in the mind of many Ghanaians and to date, one continues to wonder why the Police Service lie in many of their reports put in the public domain, if not for being an authority figure or not accountable to any independent body.

“It is agreeable to say Police lie about the phenomenon of "Noble Cause Corruption" to justify an action, that they believe keeps communities or the country safe, but it is also important to state that such principle applies to its fulness of acceptance when the case is something that can affect the peace and the stability of the communities of the country,” the statement added.

NW/DA

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