Police Ladies Association Launched

A High Court judge has launched Police Ladies Association (POLAS) in the Central Region and appealed to police women to develop their competence through education and hard work to attain great heights in the Police Service.

Mrs Justice Nana Adwoa Coleman said the Police Service had transformed from the days of Police Force which was a preserve for men to an institution which gave equal opportunities for women to rub shoulders with their male counterparts in all departments of the service.

The programme, which was on the theme; “Enlightened by our Past, Enriching the Present, Envisioning the Future of Police Ladies,” and being replicated in all the regional capitals, marked the Silver Anniversary of POLAS, but it was the first time that it was being launched in the Region.

Mrs. Justice Coleman, who was the Special Guest of Honour, said the theme was appropriate because if policewomen were to attain high laurels in the Service, they needed to juxtapose the past with the present in order to gear towards excellence in the future.

She said it was rather unfortunate that women feigned all excuses as weaker vessels in organizations to shirk off their responsibilities.

She said such excuses for non-performance at the work place led to mediocrity and appealed to women not to exploit that avenue to under-perform but change their attitudes to help promote the interest of women.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr. Moses Ransford Ninson, the Central Regional Police Commander, said since the Police Service was established, police women had proved themselves well with a lot of them rising to the top echelons of the Service.

He mentioned some of them as the Chief Justice Mrs. Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, a former top-level police woman, Commissioner of Police Rose Bio Atinga and Commissioner of Police Joana Osei-Poku.

DCOP Ninson said “the key to success is discipline,” so for the women to match the feat of their compatriots, they needed to be disciplined.

He urged police women to take up all duties including night duties, weapon handling, patrol duties and other challenging duties if they wished to prove themselves as worthy partners in the service.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr. Kenneth Kuntogli, the Cape Coast District ‘A’ Crime Officer, asked the women to be always guided by the tenets of the Service, and help to prevent crime.

There were goodwill messages from the Fire Ladies Association, the Prisons Ladies Association, the Immigration Ladies Association, the Department of Gender and the Queen Mothers’ Association.

As part of the launch, the POLAS members visited the Kotokoraba Market, the Police Experimental School in Cape Coast and the Cape Coast School for the Deaf to counsel them on security and domestic violence.