Acquire knowledge to become efficient - Police told

Kumasi, Feb. 1, GNA - Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Patrick E. Timbillah, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, has stressed the need for police personnel to acquire more knowledge in order to prove equal to the= ir task as law enforcment agents. He said some of the personnel in the service lack the confidence to carr= y out their duties boldly because they are not armed with the requisite knowledge.

Mr Timbillah was speaking in Kumasi at the weekend at the closing of a two-week capacity building training for junior police officers. The participants were selected from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Regions, representing the Norther= n sector of the country. The Police Commander said the current world of globalization and its challenges called for the need for the personnel to build their capacitie= s to be able to meet world standards. "In a democratic dispensation, you must work professionally to mee= t the job's challenges as well as meet the satisfaction of the public," he stressed. He charged the law enforcers to open themselves up for new knowled= ge through reading and learning so as to exhibit a high level of professionalism to operate efficiently towards the democratic system of government which has now dominated the world. The DCOP advised the policemen to exercise discretion in carrying=

out their duties by operating under the law, adding that by so doing, hum= an rights would be observed.

Additionally, this would also elicit support from the public to h= elp combat crime which is a shared responsibility, he said. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Raymond Adofiem, Commanding Officer of the Police Training School at Ho, and facilitator of the train= ing programme, stated that protecting the citizenry in a democratic state without violating their human rights requires specific professional train= ing skills for police personnel. "Appropriate strategies and methods of delivery, assessment and content have thus been carefully designed for the training to enable participants= to become efficient and effective in their jobs." The Very Reverend DSP Jonas Aboagye, the Ashanti Regional Police Chaplain, in an address urged the personnel to be morally upright since t= hey are supposed to be role models in the society. Lance Corporal Naomi Fordjour, a participant who spoke on behalf of her colleagues, thanked the police administration for organizing the programm= e, saying the trainees tend to forget what they are taught at the time of recruitment, and prayed that the exercise would continue to put personnel=

back on track so as to enhance the image of the Service.