Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwesi Ofori
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwesi Ofori has disclosed that the police command presided over by the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare, has gone into a marathon meeting session involving Commanders in Accra and Tema to brainstorm on how to confront the emerging crime of robberies in the country.
He said they are more concerned about the use of rampant use of motorbikes by the robbers in their operations.
He said the meeting was to come up with a strategy to confront the emerging crime where criminals use motorbikes to rob unsuspecting people in broad daylight.
ACP Kwesi Ofori pointed out that, as part of the strategy, police personnel have been deployed, such as the Motorbike Fast Call team known as the “Rovers”, the static patrols, foot and vehicular patrols.
He said the police have taken control of the twin cities of Accra and Tema to closely monitor the movement of the criminals.
ACP Kwesi Ofori said the police are fast closing in on the criminals, as they have ascertained their identities and their mode of operation, as they are willing to square them up in the remit of the law.
He also impressed the general public that as the police have increased their visibility in the two communities, they are calling on the public to support them in order to apprehend the criminals in the country.
ACP Kwesi Ofori pointed out that finance-intensive areas such as banks, business areas, commercial districts and high-density areas are closely being monitored by the police in order to secure such pertinent areas against robberies.
He said the police are constantly liaising with people in these areas for information that will lead to the early detection of crime both day and night to nip criminals blatantly committing crimes in the bud.
Asked about the intelligence that some employees of banks connive with criminals with information on clients in order to rob them, he said IGP Dampare has tasked the commanders to move into banks to talk to the managers to hear them on how they can protect them and their customers well.
He said the police are thus determined to maintain their proximity to the banks as they deem them as essential partners in curbing the robbery menace in the country.
ACP Kwesi Ofori further indicated that, in connection with the recent robbery of a bank, one worker close to the bank has been picked up for interrogations and investigations in order to nip the culprits in the bud.
He said this in an interview with TV3’s Komla Adom on Monday, September 27.
“The police quickly moved into a brainstorming session when those events took place, the acting Inspector General of Police George Akuffo Dampare presided over that meeting involving the two regional commanders of Tema and Accra and all the divisional commanders. There was a marathon meeting that went into late night on how to confront these emerging crimes where criminals use motorbikes to rob people in broad daylight.
“As you can see we have deployed a lot of policemen, we are closing in, we know who they are and their mode of operations and we are so determined to deal with them in accordance with the law. Therefore, we have increased our visibility and presence in the communities to allow the police authority to prevail. One thing that is very necessary is to enlist the public for support and we are appealing to the public to support the police in this drive in order to stop crimes being committed against decent people in society,” he said.
