Police adopts policy to win public confidence

The Ghana Police Service has committed itself to achieve excellence in its performance, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed A. Alhassan has said.

He said this has necessitated a change in policy direction from reactive policing, centred around investigating crime, to proactive policing, focusing on preventing crime from occurring.

Central to this approach, the IGP said was the establishment of the Patrol Division and Police Visibility Concept in the communities which now serve as the flagship programme of a wider reform agenda for the service.

Mr Alhassan gave highlights of the strategic policy initiative during the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the Upper West Regional Police Headquarters in Wa on Monday.

He said the patrol strategy serves as a proactive deterrence to crime, as it limits and sometimes eliminate the opportunities that criminals use to commit crime, while increased visibility in the communities has helped reduced the fear of crime among law-abiding citizens.

“This has been re-enforced by the introduction of our public confidence re-affirmation programme, which is gradually reviving the trust and confidence of the public in the police”, he said.

Mr Alhassan said another key initiative was the strategic consolidation of the hitherto, multiple para-military units, into the form of a police unit to enable it respond more effectively to violent crime scenes and for the efficient management of public order situations.

The police administration has reorganised the Criminal Investigations Department, which now has an Automated Fingerprint Identification System and a refurbished Forensic Laboratory with a DNA section.

“The effectiveness of the paradigm shift in our strategic approach is reflected in a palpable increase in public confidence in the police service ability to protect lives and property,” he said.

Dr Mohammed Musheibu Alfa, Deputy Regional Minister, commended the security agencies in the region for working assiduously to reduce violent crime.

He however expressed worry about rampant motorbike theft and other petty stealing particularly in the Wa Municipality and urged the police command to restrategise in its fight against such crimes.

Dr Alfa commended the police administration in the region for implementing proactive measures to stem the spate of armed robberies in the eastern corridor through the establishment of a police post at Kojokperi and Issa.