The Ghana Police Service

Part 1

The issue of law and order is of very high public concern, not only to Ghanaians but also to

the international community wanting to do business in and with Ghana. Since the return to

democracy in 1992, crime has risen steadily, with the Ghanaian Police Service seemingly

unable to respond effectively. In some cases, police incompetence, misconduct and

corruption have fuelled, rather than reduce crime and violence. Few institutions have a

greater impact on the daily lives of citizens than law enforcement yet, relations between the

Ghana Police Service and citizens continue to be characterized by suspicion and mutual

hostility. Generally, the good men and women of the Ghana Police Service do a very good

job considering the enormous challenges they face on a daily basis. I salute them on the

troubles they go through in protecting lives and property throughout the four corners of

Ghana. That notwithstanding, the Ghana Police Service as an institution, needs urgent

reforms to shape the institution into a 21st century institution capable to fighting crime

within the four corners of Ghana. Reform of the Ghanaian policing system is clearly badly

needed and yet, policies have remained timid, incongruous and insincere in this area.

Currently, the Ghana Police Service is engulfed with many problems on several fronts and is

fast losing credibility even if it has not lost it already. Public trust in the Ghana Police Service

is at its lowest ebb since the establishment of the Ghana Police Service. It is sad to say that,

corruption is very rife in the Ghana Police Service. Within the police service, there is internal

corruption where contracts are inflated, contracts awarded are under-implemented, funds

allocated to specific police welfare programs disappear into private accounts of top level

officers. There are also cases of evidence tampering, disappearance of crime exhibits,

substitution of criminals with innocent persons and I dare say, planting of evidence. At

various times in the history of the Ghana Police Service, attempts have been made to reform

the police with no success. The attempts have been at best half-hearted and not thorough.

The focus of changing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is not the solution. This is like a

man who had headache and the recommended treatment was for him to get a new hair cut

and wear a new hat. In all cases where the IGP is changed, he is replaced with another IGP

who has risen through the ranks, went through the same training, totally acculturated in the

norms and practices in the Ghana Police Service. With all due respect, I have heard it said

that, a thief knows how to catch another thief but, I have never heard it said that, a thief

can reform another thief better.

It may surprise many that, the current top brass of the Ghana Police Service do not have job

specifications. Without a job specification, how does the officer know his roles and

responsibilities, how can he be set targets, how can his performance be reviewed, how can

he know whether he is performing satisfactorily, what yard stick will he be judged on for

promotion, if he fails in his job what criteria will be used to measure his failure since there is

no job specification? No matter how scary this scenario may be, unfortunately, that is the

reality I am afraid. I lay the blame squarely at the door steps of the Police Council, defence

committee of Parliament and the Ministry of Interior for failing to ensure that, the top brass

of the Ghana Police Service had job specifications. The problems of the Ghana Police Service

as enumerated by successive IGPs and other observers include among others shortage of

manpower, poor salary and benefits, use of outdated weapons, lack of adequate and modern

telecommunication equipment, lack of vehicles, shortage of funds for operation, poor

training, ill-oriented, ill-motivated, corruption among the rank and file, poor accommodation,

political interference and poor recruitment practices. I am comfortable in saying that, most if

not all the issues listed are human resources management problems, others are

administrative while a few are operational. In other words, it is conceivable to conclude that,

these problems and challenges bedevilling the Ghana Police Service can be addressed by any

individual that is equipped with the education, experience and intelligence of a committed

manager of men and material resources.

Internal and external accountability is weak, ineffective or non-existent. Citizens contact with

the police are almost entirely involuntary, restricted to law enforcement encounters. In the

midst of all this, violent crimes such as armed robbery are on the rise across the country. A

recent US State Department Narcotics report on Ghana states categorically that, the Ghana

Police Service and other law enforcement agencies have been corrupted by drug barons and

hard criminals. The Ghana Police Service may be corrupt but then, the Ghanaian society is

also corrupt. The men and women of the Ghana Police Service are products of a corrupt

society and system, so it follows that, they will also be corrupt. This is of course not an

excuse for them but, that is the fact. They have families; they have to survive in the harsh

conditions of Ghana just like other Ghanaians. They have to make do and the only way they

know is “if you cannot beat them, you join them”. They see politicians and other civil

servants living beyond their means, probably embezzling money in the billions, sharing out

perks and contracts between them, and they have to resort to barrier blocks exhortations

mainly on commercial drivers etc. The men and women in the lower ranks of the Ghana

Police Service sees their bosses living well beyond their salaries so naturally, they have to

survive too on the highways.

There have been many instances of uncommon bravery and honesty on the part of men and

women of the Ghana Police Service. Some courageous policemen have died while battling

armed robbers in various places of the country. What happened to the families they left

behind? Were they compensated for their irretrievable loss? Is there any kind of life

insurance scheme or Government Grant or compensation scheme for policemen killed in the

line of duty as in many Western countries? What exactly do policemen in Ghana benefit from? The current government has done well by providing about a thousand vehicles to the

Ghana Police Service and they are to be commended. However, more needs to be done.

How many of these vehicles are operational today? The sad parts though are reports that,

there are no provisions for the operation and maintenance of these new vehicles and this is

not surprising considering the fact that, we are a nation that does not have a maintenance

culture. Under this government, police manpower has increased from fifteen-thousand to

twenty-five thousand and the government deserves commendation. However, as much as

recruitment has increased, we are still below the UN guidelines. We should move away from

the issue of ‘garbage in and garbage out’ with these new graduates hitting the streets every

six months and swelling the ranks of human rights abusers on the beat.

Police work transcends a lot of things these days and is highly technical and technology

intensive. Science and technology play a vital role in modern day policing because, it is very

useful in the fight against crime. In a country where electricity is moribund, police work and

others like it is severely hampered. For example, how many police stations in the country are

linked by ordinary telephones, not to talk about computers? How many of the officers are

computer-literate? Do we have a National fingerprint database? Do we have a National DNA

database? These are basic requirements of modern day policing.. I have seen police stations

lighted by lanterns. We have a long way to go and reforms are quite daunting if you think

long and hard about the problems facing us. It is an indictment on us that our police are

corrupt, ineffective, inefficient and a shame on the officers both serving and retired. It is an

indictment of our Government too but, when we recognise our deficiencies and mistakes,

that is only when we can correct them and move forward. These are precisely what the IGP

has failed to address and get across to us. If he is to admit that, the Ghana Police Service

is institutionally corrupt etc and has as a matter of urgency established a transparent

programme and policies involving all stakeholders to transform the Ghana Police Service,

then the citizenry would have understood where he was coming from and not lay into him.

As it currently stands, it is not possible for the Ghana Police Service to be reformed

internally. This is because, those who will be asked to reform it rose through the ranks- the

ranks of corruption. They are or were part of the corrupt system, so they cannot reform it.

Unfortunately, they are devoid of ideas, they have vested interests, they are corrupt and

morally bankrupt, they are too compromised and they are inept hence, help has to come

from outside the police service. We have been living it in their hands every time without any

real change. Many committees, task forces and white papers have been done internally on

reforming the police service but to no avail. The best that some IGPs have come up with is

to recommend a change in uniforms. That is their idea of reforms; an exercise in futility and

insincerity; a means of making money. I wish to convince my reader that, the IGP does not

have to be a police officer for him or her to be effective. As a matter of fact, the IGP should

be appointed from outside the police hierarchy for his reforms to be effective and far

reaching. The problem is who is progressive or radical enough to try this novel approach? It

is also important to look at the outside resources available to the government in search of an

IGP.

The job of the IGP with far reaching powers is too important to the nation to be left in the

hands of the President alone. There are highly professional lawyers, accountants,

administrators, human resources professionals, state security and military intelligence

personnel that could be cross-posted to administer reforms at the Ghana Police Service. The

police have shown over the years that it cannot reform itself to face the challenges of

modern day policing. It is therefore nor unexpected that there are calls now for overhauling

and decentralizing of the entire police service. What is our level of sincerity and desire to

seek real and lasting desired reforms? How will the reforms be implemented, monitored and

reviewed? Will our current officers not be afraid that a lot of skeletons will be exposed and

thereby affect their jobs? There is an on-going paradigm shift in the nation because, we are

looking at issues more dispassionately and the demand for service delivery is at an all time

high. I think what needs to be drummed into the heads of “Ghana’s finest” is that, they need

a completely new orientation.

Do we need a Presidential Committee on the reform of the police service to adequately

prepare it for the challenges of modern day policing? Do we need an independent police

complaints authority? Should the IGP have a specific mandate to reform, a target to achieve

and a renewable contract based on performance and service delivery? Should the top

echelons of the Ghana Police Service be appointed through a very rigorous interview and

examinations process? Should current officers be made to re-apply for their jobs through

an appointments panel to justify why they should be employed. Part 2 of my article will

attempt to offer solutions and the best way forward.

NANA YAW OSSEI

LONDON, UK.

email: nyossei@yahoo.com