Winning the war on terror (armed robbery) in Ghana

The spate of crime, particularly armed robbery has assumed an alarming proportion in recent memories in our beloved country. Before the second half of 1990, people even slept with their doors ajar; but now those who even protect their houses with modern and sophisticated security gadgets sleep with an eye open. This turn of events has taken a lot of people aback and they are incessantly trying to ferret out answers to the question: why and how did armed robbery reach this height? It is very sad to note that not only has armed robbery increased in the country over the last decade, it has reached a tipping point. This canker- a social evil has become part and parcel of the country.

The saddest part of this unfortunate event is that not only do these psychopaths and sociopaths deprive their victims of their hard-earned prosperity; they also in most cases abbreviate their life span. In fact, the current crop of armed robbers in the country is ruthless, merciless, and evil. Before these times, these evil forces in our societies carried out their nefarious and diabolical activities during the mid-night watches, but presently, they do them even during the rush hours. This situation tells us that armed robbery has tipped in the country and until our governments did something smart to ameliorate this canker, the consequences on our country would be devastating. In most societies around the globe, crime and armed robbery are restricted to some hot spots or flash points, but in Ghana it appears they have transcended every corner of our societies.

Now, how do we fight this canker? How do we make our dear motherland safe? How do we make our brothers and sisters go about their everyday activities without fearing that they might be the next victim? I think every Ghanaian owes it a duty to be their brother’s keeper in winning this “war on terrorism”. If it is not terrorism, tell me what it is! Can you imagine the mental, emotional, and psychological torture unsuspecting citizens go through every moment in their lives?

But, in order to win the war on armed robbery, the government has to be very smart and proactive. They have been given the mandate to protect the citizens from these miscreants and muggers in our society. If they take this fight very seriously as when they are seeking the mandate to rule, they can win and deliver us from living in constant fear. In fighting and winning this war on crime and armed robbery on our soil, I would like to recommend a model which might help in reducing this menace in the long run. I hold the view that, the current situation does not need a temporal or ad-hoc measure, but rather a multi-facetted approach if we are to bludgeon this social vice. By stating this point, I’m not in any way suggesting that nothing should be done in the interim. Not at all! Obviously the law enforcement agencies are doing their best under the circumstances. This fight is more complex than we see.

On June 10, 2007, the former inspector general of police, Mr. Patrick Acheampong indicated that “It is now evident that, we now have a relatively calm nation where most regions experience little or no violent crimes for long periods, compared to the peak period between 1997 and 2001 when violent crimes particularly armed robberies were rampant and common throughout the country" Ghana news agency, 2007. Again, just a few days ago the Ghana police administration revealed on 3.11. 2009 that “the general crime statistics across the country has reduced by 8% from 1,150 cases between January and September last year to 1,054 cases the same period last year” www.peacefmonline.com. For me, I see a disparity between the two quotes above and the evidence on the ground. The evidence is that we are losing the war on armed robbery. When muggers are bold enough to engage the police in shootouts and in the process kill some of them, you don’t need a brain surgeon to tell you that we are treading water in this war on armed robbery. This proposed model is called the CRIME model, which coincidentally happens to be the canker we are trying to overcome. CRIME is an acronym for caring for the people, revamping of the economy, investing in the law enforcement institutions, motivating the law enforcement agencies, and educating the people. I would like to explain the various components of the model in the succeeding paragraphs.

First, caring for the people- The evidence suggests that there is a direct correlation between poverty and the rate of crime. Sociologists and criminal justice scholars have found a direct link between poverty and crime. One economic theory of crime suggests that people weigh the consequences of committing crime. They resort to crime only if the potential gains outweigh the cost or consequence for committing the crime. The reasonable conclusion to be drawn from this theory is that people living in poverty are more likely to commit property crimes such as armed robbery, theft, etc. (Christian Association for Prison Aftercare, 2007) It therefore means that if our governments govern according to the interests and needs of the people by improving their living standards, the crime rate in the country would be forced down. This is common knowledge, isn’t it? As long as politicians continue to enrich themselves with our limited resources, whilst the majority of the people wallow in abject poverty, they are directly and indirectly giving legitimacy to crime in all its facets.

Second, revamping of the economy- We need our governments to break new grounds. They need to think outside the box; they need to let things happen in order to grow the economy to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We don’t vote them into office to continue with the status-quo. When President Barack Obama spoke to congress about his health care reform a couple of months ago, he indicated that although he is not the first president to push through health care reforms, he was determined to be the last one to deal with this hot button in America. The key word here is determination; determination to do something worthwhile in the lives of about 46 million folks who can’t afford health care. If in this day and age we are still exporting our mineral and natural resources in their raw forms, then we are way behind schedule. The point is this: we need a clear-cut policy direction that will be focused on key sectors of the economy to propel us into a middle income country, and thereby providing jobs for the jobless. And don’t forget, the devil finds job for the idle hand. That job is armed robbery.

Third, investing in the law enforcement institutions- If the institutions that are supposed to fight crime in the country are under-resourced, how efficient and effective can they operate? The answer is simple, they can’t do much. It appears these gangs and robbers who are terrorizing us day in and day out have more sophisticated equipment and gadgets than our police service. And yet we want the police service to perform wonders. I tell you they are not magicians. Thus, when I criticized the Mills administration for making available 50,000 dollars each for our 230 member parliament to purchase cars in my article titled “The incubuses and succubuses of Africa” published on ( www.ghanaweb.com, 23.6.2009) and other media networks, I was just saying that it is about time that the government got its priorities right. Let us major on the majors and desist from majoring on minors.

Fourth, motivating the law enforcement agencies- Investing in these institutions as I have explained above is not the same as motivating them. You can invest in an institution without necessarily inspiring them to go the extra mile needed to achieve effectiveness. Here, I am talking about the impetus that these people, who always put their lives in harm’s way need to enable them love and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. A lot of people, especially motivation researchers talk about intrinsic motivation as being the preferred option in achieving sustained results, I agree; but when you are starving, can’t put food on the table for your family, that innate tendency, or psyche that inspires you to continue in that activity you love most could disappear. The point is this: they should be extrinsically motivated as well; their remuneration should be upwardly adjusted. After all, they deserve to live in dignity and respect, and not asking for alms whilst executing their legitimate responsibilities. As our security apparatuses, especially the police put their lives in harm’s way to protect us, our governments should appreciate their commitment and sacrifice by improving their living standard.

Finally, educating the public- By this I’m not insinuating that the educated are holy and thus cannot be muggers. This is because there are some educated folks who are worse than some of these robbers. They use their knowledge and pens to loot and destroy the country to satisfy their greed and selfishness. These are the white-collar criminals. The difference between muggers and white-collar criminals is their modus operandi. By educating the people I mean giving second chances to those individuals, who as a result of some reasons dropped out of school or never sat in the classroom and as such found themselves on the streets. Most of these unfortunate people end up as losers and therefore engage in all kinds of social vices. If civil society, especially our government could provide them with vocations, employable skills, etc. we would succeed in drastically reducing the rate of crime in the country.

This war on armed robbery can be won. But we should fathom that it would take a concerted and focused effort if we want to win. The war on armed robbery in New York between 1980 and the early 1990s was not won until pragmatic policies and programs were put in place to achieve that end. I would therefore appeal to the Mills administration to act decisively before Ghana degenerates into a country where citizens continually go through mental, emotional, and psychological torture as a result of the armed robbery epidemic. God bless Ghana!!

Source: Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Educational Consultant, IAF- Munich (kingpong73@yahoo.com)