The Ghana Police Service is to investigate the causes of the high death rate among Police personnel, Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), said in Kumasi. She said the Service recorded 117 deaths last year and tasked the Research and Planning Unit of the Service to investigate and recommend measures to curb the trend.
Mr. Mills-Robertson, who was addressing a durbar of Senior Police Officers as part of her familiarisation visit to Ashanti Region, said the majority of those who lost their lives were in the Inspectorate Rank and they died through natural causes and accidents.
The DIGP, who is the first woman to have attained the position in the history of the country, told the Officers that the Police Council had approved a new service condition for the personnel. "All is over, what is now left is the final approval from the Cabinet to make it operational", she stressed. She said the Police Council, Administration and Government were working relentlessly to improve upon all facets of the Police Service to enhance its efficiency.
Mrs. Mills-Robertson stressed the need for all Police personnel not only to read but also study the 1992 Constitution to enable them to be abreast with what was expected of them at any given time. She warned Police personnel, who had been using their position to collect debts for people, saying: "You need to stay clear of such practices since debt collection is not part of your mandate."
The Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Mr. George Asiamah, said in spite of the numerous constraints, the combined efforts of the security services had brought the rampant armed robbery that engulfed the Region under control.
