Hello Mr. IGP: Is there a smoking gun?

It became operational on Tuesday October 4. If you didn’t know I’m talking about the directive by Ghana Police Service to suspend all checks on motorists’ documentations, which include license, insurance and road worthy certificates.

The director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur said: “Unrelenting’ traffic jam on Ghana’s roads needs attention, hence the directive to shift focus away from other operations of the police.”

He said traffic had become a source of concern for the country and radical steps needed to be taken to remedy the situation.

“All attention is going to be concentrated on managing traffic which has become a source of concern in our communities just to make sure we create a congenial atmosphere for travelers and commuters in our cities and our towns,” the officer noted.

Did you notice the paragraph above?

His stress on ‘All’ perhaps leaves no room for navigation. It put him not only in a box but his boss and the police administration plus the ruling NDC in a tight corner. That means someone at the party’s Communications’ Desk must come out to debunk the allegation that the decision was influenced by the presidency. In other words president Mahama orchestrated the directive.

However, 24 hours later when the administration came under fire Supt. Arthur made a U-turn and said this: “But it will not be an illegality on the part of the police man to request for them on suspicion.”

You see there. The police must use judgement to determine who’s a bad or good guy. That in itself, to begin with smacks something else.

That sounds like skewing to me. ‘Skewing’ is a term used by police. It is when police activity is directed at easier-to-solve crimes to boost detection rates, at the expense of more serious offences such as sex crimes or child abuse.

That notwithstanding, the IGP could be right on the service’s decision to suspend the checks. But the leak of an internal memo before the announcement cast doubt about the rationale behind the new operation.

Thing is if you don’t put your operational priorities right you’ll be outrun and outsmart by criminals.

That explains why many police institutions across the world today are refocusing the priorities of policing back to the Peelian principles (the principles of law enforcement introduced in 1829) which place emphasis on ----protection of life and property as well as prevention and detection of crime.

Sir Robert Peel a former British prime minister who also served as Home Secretary said: “the main emphasis should always be the protection of life and property, the prevention and detection of crime. Anything else is a distraction.”

Also the principles summarise the ideas that Sir Peel developed to define an ethnic police force…In this model of policing, police officers are regarded as citizens with implicit consent of those fellow citizens.”

After all, who questions the police when it’s very obvious they’re protecting the citizenry?

But that brings to mind this question:

Why would one leak an internal memo if the motive of the memo meant all good?

Surely, I don’t expect the police to divulge all its strategies to the public. That isn’t the right way to go. Rather it must ensure that it keeps some of its plans or secret weapons in tact to stay on top in terms intelligence gathering and policing.

That said citizens ought to know what’s going on.

For example if you say you’re going to suspend all motorists’ checks that immediately creates a loophole. It creates a problem there and raises questions.

So tell me how are you going to close that gap as a result of the suspension of the other (s)?

Perhaps just as the administration thought they’d made themselves clear or clearer to the public. There came an unnerving uproar from some section of the populace.

Was Supt. Arthur forced to add this when he spoke on Peace, an Accra-based radio programme ‘Kokrokoo’ with Kwame Sefa Kayi on Wednesday October 5?

Here him: “The focus is on freeing the road from criminalities that is why the memo is instructive for MTTD to keep a vigilant watch for persons carrying, ammunitions and drugs as well.”

I thought they’re now controlling traffic jam?

But on a more serious question how does freeing the road from criminalities ease a traffic jam?

Finally he said this: “The operation is also to clampdown on arms proliferations and drugs. Insisting the order is a routine strategy to improve operational efficiency getting close to Christmas season.

I’m surprise the police capo failed to mention the historic general elections which comes off on the 7th of December, 17 clear days before the Yuletide.