Regional Police Commander urges policemen to be vigilant

Accra, April 2, GNA - Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Rose Bio-Atinga, has advised police personnel to be vigilant, courteous and fair to enable them to win public support, confidence and trust. She said the work of the police in the Accra Metropolis was demanding and urged the personnel to take up the challenge and work assiduously towards ensuring that the city was safe for all residents. DCOP Bio-Atinga, who is also the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, was speaking at the West Africa Security Services Activity (WASSA) end of the year get-together organized by the Dansoman Divisional Police Command in Accra on Friday.

"If we are able to build confidence and trust with the communities they will support the police to fight crime in the society," she said and gave the assurance of their preparedness to clamp down on criminals in Accra.

DCOP Bio-Atinga said statistics available indicated that crime in the Dansoman area, especially car snatching, had reduced drastically and that could be attributed to the timely and reliable information they received from the public.

She called on the public as a matter of their social responsibilities to continue to volunteer information to enable the police to combat crime. DCOP Bio-Atinga also advised police personnel to go by their rules and regulations and ensured cleanliness at their barracks at all times.

The Dansoman Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Paul Awini, said hard work, discipline and dedication by his men as well as public support had brought down robbery cases in the area from 130 in 2009 to 57 in 2010. He said the police would intensify day and night patrols, make their snap checks robust and at the same time pursue community policing and public education campaigns.

ACP Awini asked police personnel to redouble their efforts to create a congenial security space for residents to go about their legitimate businesses without fear.

Mr Theophilus Tetteh Chaie, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma Central, commended the role government was playing to ensure that the police were adequately supported with vehicles, accommodation and especially motivation in terms of remunerations. Mr Chaie later donated GH¢500 to support the WASSA programme. 2 April 11