Police educate drivers on robbery tricks

Accra, June 28, GNA - Chief Superintendent of Police, Madam Fatima Fuseini, and Divisional Commander of the Kaneshie Police, on Wednesday advised drivers to be cautious when driving in the night to avoid encounters with armed robbers.

She said drivers should be able to search people they suspected to be armed robbers and be careful when picking children and women since some robbers were now using them in their operations.

Mad Fuseini, who also has oversight responsibility at the Tesano Police Station gave the advice when the Greater Accra Regional Police met with commercial drivers in Achimota and La Paz, suburbs of Accra to educate them on armed robbery, particularly car snatching. The educational programme, which started on Monday, has become necessary due to frequent reports of car snatching in the Region. Mad Fuseini urged drivers to be alert when picking young men aged between 18 and 30 years at night.

"Do not stop at dark places in the night. When you pick a passenger lure him to speak with you to be familiar with the voice as well as the face. Be careful of passengers who are willing to pay higher than they should and call the police emergency numbers when in trouble," she added.

Mad Fuseini said because of the recent Dansoman shooting incident, where the police accidentally shot two women while chasing some armed robbers, taxis were not allowed to chase suspected armed robbery cars. She called for maximum co-operation among the various transport unions to help the police in curbing the crime of car snatching. Some of the drivers had indicated that working in the night was more profitable as passengers were willing to pay any amount charged and noted that night driving was also problem free since there were few or no police arrests.

Superintendent of Police Mr Daniel Asare, District Commander, called on the drivers to ensure that all parts of their vehicle were in good condition before they set to work.

He said the failure of drivers to check their brakes, tyres, wipers, driving mirrors, windscreens and other parts of vehicle had all contributed to accidents on the roads.

Mr Asare reminded the drivers that it was wrong to drink while driving and advised them to stop the habit.

Mr Abdallah Shaibu, an executive member of the La Paz Drivers Union advocated the re-introduction of the guard concepts where people were trained to check activities of drivers and passengers before leaving the stations.

He also urged the executives at the various unions to instil discipline in their drivers to ensure safety on our roads. Mr Cephas Arthur, Assistant Superintendent of Police, who is also the Public Relations Officer at the Greater Accra Regional Police Command urged the driver unions to pass on the knowledge gained from the meeting to other drivers who were not present and to ensure that they showed discipline on the road.