IGP assures nation of human face policing

Essikadu, Dec. 18, GNA - Mr Paul Quaye, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), on Thursday assured the nation that his administration would continue to implement human face policing. "Policing world-wide is shifting from the traditional para-military styles and methodologies to proactive and intelligence-led law enforcement", he said.

Mr Quaye said this when he paid a courtesy call on Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Omanhene of Esssikadu Traditional area at Essikadu near Takoradi. "We want to have a type of policing that brings the public to its fold," he said and added that the police recognised as crucial, the role that communities play in crime fighting. He said most nations have adopted internationally recognized standards of law enforcement strategies that were centered on democratic principle of policing and fundamental rights and freedoms. "We cannot, therefore, afford to remain passive since our actions and inactions would be monitored by civil society and the international community", he said.

The IGP said that the police wanted closer collaboration with the people instead of imposing their strategies on them. He said the police administration was expected to achieve a lot of progress if it worked in collaboration with people especially in the communities in which it operates.

Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Omanhene of Essikadu Traditional Area told the IGP: "I welcome your administration and hope people would help you to effectively and efficiently protect lives and properties". Nana Nketsia urged the police to consider the security implications which were likely to come up as a result of the oil and gas discovery. He called on the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis to collaborate with the security agencies in order to effectively defend lives and properties in the region.