Accra, Jan. 21, GNA - Nana Owusu-Nsiah, Inspector-General of Police, said on Friday that efforts were being made to ensure that suspected criminals who are detained in police cells are not deprived of their fundamental human rights.
"Police cells, I have to emphasise, are not punishment lock-ups," Nana Owusu-Nsiah, said when he inaugurated the refurbished sanitation facilities and charge office cells of the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Accra.
Government provided 800 million cedis from the HIPC Fund for the project, which include the refurbishment of the six-storey building while the main cells has been expanded.
The Department has one female, one juvenile and two male cells and a reception for visitors.
Each cell has toilets, showers and cupboards.
Nana Owusu-Nsiah said the Police Service prohibit the confinement of juvenile offenders and adult criminals in the same cells and expressed satisfaction that the structural changes had reversed the situation.
The changes have also made it possible to separate females from their male counterparts in detention without compromising security.
The IGP said modern crime thrived on the ingenuity of criminals, which is facilitated by technological advancement and to counter their nefarious activities demands more ingenious methods with the support of scientific equipment.
He said it was in this light that the Police Service Forensic laboratory, criminal records and firearms bureaux had been revamped. Nana Owusu-Nsiah said the criminal records and firearms section were being computerised while the crime laboratory is being equipped with sophisticated equipment.
These, he said, would help expand crime database, facilitate information retrieval, promote forensic analysis of exhibits and ensure accuracy in identification of criminals.
Mr David Asante-Apeatu, Director of CID, said the major component of the renovation works involved the sewerage system at the basement and the water supply system.
He said the National Police Training School is also being renovated.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Acting Minister of the Interior, said government was determined to solve the acute accommodation problem facing personnel of the Service.
