Police, civilian distrust threat to democracy – BPS

The Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) has said the distrust between the Ghana Police Service and the public must be dealt with in order to prevent a total breakdown in the country’s law and order in the wake of three “disturbing” incidents.

A group of policemen assaulted three journalists of the Ghanaian Times including a lactating mother, who collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention.

A widely shared video on social media also captured Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong being aggressive toward some police officers who were at the scene of a demonstration by students of the University of Education, Winneba.

Another video circulating on social media also shows an assault of a cop by a driver of a commercial bus and his conductor at Weija in the Greater Accra Region.

The BPS has condemned these incidents in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Nana Yaw Akwada.

“This, if not addressed with urgency, public tranquillity and law and order will grind to a complete halt thereby threatening our democratic development,” the statement noted.

BPS is also calling for the establishment of a permanent and independent police complaints body and action taken against the officers who assaulted the three journalists.

The group is also calling for the arrest and prosecution of Mr Agyapong for obstructing a law enforcement officer from performing his lawful duties as well as the cop beaters at Weija.

The Bureau believes there is the need to re-orient the entire police service to reconcile their psyche with the tenets of democratic policing and the delivery of service rather than exacting force on the citizenry whose fundamental rights and freedoms are to be protected by the police.