The Ghana Police Service received 25 specially designed bicycles from the US government last Friday, at the end of a two-week training programme for twenty Ghanaian police officers.
The creation of the bicycle patrol unit is in furtherance of the US Government's determination to assist the Ghana Police Service strengthen the community policing system.
Introducing the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, ICITAP, Mr. Eric Beinhardt said ICITAP has worked in more than 75 countries and began working with the Ghana Police Service in 1999 when it provided technical assistance.
Mr. Beinhardt said ICITAP hopes to make funds available to implement a comprehensive basic recruit training program for the Ghana Police Service. He added that when community policing is established, people will be more likely to file a criminal report at the police station which is run efficiently.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Kwasi Nkansah who delivered a speech on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, said so far, 50 officers have completed the course.
He said community policing has as its primary mission making communities safe, in view of the escalation of crime in recent times.
Mr. Nkansah stressed that developing and sustaining the growth of the community-policing scheme requires strong local leadership and commitment and advised the general public to join hands in creating safer communities in the country. As a first step, a model station for the bicycle patrol unit has already been created at the Cantonments Police Station with a five-member steering committee to manage the program and evaluate its effectiveness and impact on crime prevention.
Its success he added will form the basis of replication in all the regional commands in the country.
The Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Mr. Charles H. Twining, assured the Ghana Police Service that his government was equally committed to raising the professionalism of the service. He said, "many police departments in the United States and around the world have successfully implemented Police Bicycle Patrols, especially because of the added benefit and flexibility they offer".
The closing ceremony was enlivened by an impressive display of riding skills by the newly trained police officers who are to constitute the core of the bicycle patrol unit of the Ghana Police Service.
