Internet interruptions hampering tracking of criminal cases-police

The District Commander of the Aflao Police District Command, Superintendent Obrako Sarpong Bempah is calling for improved internet connectivity and more equipment to enable the Police efficiently make use of the integrated criminal Case Tracking System, CTS.

He made the request in an interview with crimeheckghana on the challenges hampering the progress of the CTS in the district.

Superintendant Bempah said though personnel are willing to use the system, inadequate equipment and poor internet connectivity have made it difficult to upload cases onto the CTS.

Another challenge he bemoaned is the seeming lack of knowledge of new recruits and personnel about the new technology. He therefore urged the authorities concerned to provide further training for the officers.

The Commander who also heads the Ketu South Divisional Command indicated that the Ketu Division has not been captured onto the system and therefore cases from that station do not make way onto the system, a development he described as worrying.

“We have about nineteen inspectors who should have access to the system but we only have two laptop computers. It is a big problem for us. At least additional four laptops will suffice since it will be impossible for each inspector to have a computer. Moreover, the internet connection is very poor and though we are able to enter information we are unable to upload it onto the system. ” He said.

His concerns were re-echoed by the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of the USAID Justice Support Activity, Kombian Samuel Fant who told crimecheckghana that the inability of the various justice sector agencies to upload information onto the CTS is impeding effective investigations and prosecution of criminal cases.

“Going round to monitor the progress of the CTS, a major challenge most of the police officers encounter is poor internet connectivity provided by the Bureau of National Communications, BNC which is the government agency responsible for giving internet access for the successful roll-out of the programme. We are however in discussion with the Bureau to see how we can rectify the challenge.” He said.

Mr. Kombian also described as worrying the seeming lack of knowledge by some police and prison personnel about the CTS.

“The trainees who were supposed to have educated their colleagues about the system couldn’t do it because they said they did not get enough information to enable them impact others because they were late in attending the training sessions. Most of the trainees have retired whiles others have been transferred and that has not helped. It is a major concern and we are taking it up.”

Despite the challenges, Mr. Samuel Kombian was hopeful that it will be resolved to ensure the smooth roll-out of the CTS to improve justice delivery.

Background

In 2018, the Government of Ghana launched the first integrated Criminal Justice Case Tracking System (CTS) in collaboration with the GOG’s Judicial Service, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department, the Legal Aid Commission, the Economic and Organized Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Prisons Service. Ghana’s CTS promotes inter-agency collaboration and information-sharing through the development of an integrated case tracking system to support the GOG in effectively investigating and prosecuting criminal cases. The CTS is operational in seven regions, namely the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Bono, Upper East, Volta & Western regions.

The USAID Justice Sector Support JSS activity, therefore, seeks to strengthen the utilization of the CTS by stakeholders and provide support to civil society organizations and citizens to strengthen advocacy on accountability of key justice sector institutions to improve justice delivery.