We Won’t Countenance Lawlessness -IGP

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye has stated emphatically that the Ghana Police Service under his watch will not approve any lawlessness before, during and after this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

He warns that any private individual or group of persons found to have flouted the laws of the country will not be spared.

The IGP gave this strong warning when The Informer reached him, via telephone over the weekend for his comments on the continuous preaching of violence by some political parties in the run up to the December 07 general elections.

According to Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, the police service will not compromise its professional standard or be reluctant to carry out its constitutionally mandated task of maintaining law and order, for people to throw the peace of the nation to the dogs. The IGP said anybody caught engaging in violence or found to have breach the law will be properly dealt with.

“It is the duty of the police to maintain law and order as spelt out in the constitution, and so the police will not look on and allow people to take the laws into their own hands to undermine the peace enjoyed currently by Ghanaians”, IGP, Quaye indicated.

“To be frank, any group of persons or a political party that has made it an agenda to take the laws into their hands because they want power as far as this year’s election is concerned, must be deceiving themselves, since the police will not tolerate any unruly behaviour on the part of party supporters”, he added.

“Election is not about one inciting his party followers to cause mayhem or lynch the police, but the ability to properly convince people to vote for one’s party based on record and achievements”, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye noted.

“The police is ever ready and well prepared; and will deal with those who have deliberately made it a policy to cause confusion in this year’s general election”, he stated.

Asked whether the call by the Assin North MP, Kennedy Agyepong, instructing that sympathizers of the NPP should lynch any police personnel who will become an impediment on their way on the day of the election, isn’t threatening and will affect the operation of the police, the IGP replied no; and said that the police are firm, well prepared and positioned professionally to discharge its constitutional mandate of maintaining law and order, and protect life and property, without fear or favour; and that anyone found culpable to have contravened the law, will be made to face the full rigors of it

“Even as an IGP, I am not above the law, so why should somebody think that he can misconduct himself or herself and go unpunished; never”, he further stated.

“The law is no respecter of persons, and so, will apply to each and everyone, hence no threats from political party activists can sway the police and prevent it from performing its duty as required by law”, he concluded.

In a related development however, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye in delivering his keynote address during this year’s West African Security Service Activity (WASSA) last Friday, 24th February 2012 at the Police Headquarters, assures the general public that the police will ensure that Ghanaians go about their legitimate duties in the periods before, during and after the election.

According to the IGP, in spite of the challenges the service is facing, the personnel would discharge their duties dispassionately, during this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections; ensuring that all conflicts and violence pertaining to the elections are dealt with quickly and expeditiously.

He also called on the public to cooperate with the police by providing useful information that would help reduce crime and other acts of indiscipline in the country.

The IGP, however, cautioned the personnel against indulging in activities that could tarnish the image of the service, adding; “as personnel of the police service, you must demonstrate a high level of professionalism both in words and in deed, by exhibiting impartiality and fairness to all parties in order to win their trust and confidence.”

Mr. Paul Quaye further called on personnel to desist from divulging confidential information about the service to the media or talking to the press on issues they have little or no idea on, or do not even have the capacity to deal with, thereby, embarrassing themselves in the process as well as undermining and ridiculing the service.

“All those who are doing that should henceforth desist from such behaviours and resort to the laid down procedure and regulations for communication within the service”, he cautioned, and tasked all officers in command positions to provide the needed supervisory leadership at all levels in order to reverse the trend.

He commends the government for its continuous assistance to equip the Ghana police service, especially, it’s recent effort to provide the service with large number of operational vehicles and other related equipment which aimed at enhancing its operational capacity, citing the latest of bilateral loan agreement of about Fifty Million Euros, (€50million) to re-tool the service.