KNUST gets police post

A NEW police post worth thousands of Ghana Cedis has been inaugurated at Ayeduase near Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to provide security services to the increasing population of students in the area.

The police post, which was donated by the university, is equipped with facilities and experienced law enforcing officers to help ward off criminal activities as student hotels in the community and surrounding areas come under severe attacks from armed robbers.

It is one of the three police posts pencilled down by the university to establish at Bomso, Kotei and Ayeduase, Prof. Otoo Ellis, Vice Chancellor of KNUST said at the inauguration.

According to him, management of the university was well aware of the challenges faced as a result of the increasing number of students to maintain security for non-campus resident students.

Prof. Ellis said efforts to protect members of the university community, particularly students at hostels at Ayeduase had been started and the inauguration of the police post was a clear proof of that. He added that work on two different police posts would start soon.

Chief Supt. Deborah Addison-Campbell, Manhyia Divisional Police Commander, stated that despite the introduction of the Visibility and Accessibility concept, additional efforts at combating crimes were still needed in areas like Ayeduase and its neighbouring communities.

According to the police chief, KNUST and its nearby communities, which were fast developing into residential and business hubs, had become targets for criminal.

He disclosed that a total of 127 robberies were recorded within the Manhyia Division in the first quarter of this year alone, asserting that a significant number of these incidents were recorded within Ayeduase, Kotei, Deduako, Bomso and Ayigya communities with the targets being the hotels.

“Naturally, we are all not amused by this state of affairs and all efforts are being made by our regular covert and overt patrols to combat these crimes,” Chief Supt. Addison-Campbell noted.

She, however, acknowledged that efforts by the police alone could not combat crime since most of the perpetrators lived in the communities. Cooperation of the public was therefore needed by the police.

The police commander said modern policing encouraged partnership with the community, and in response to this responsibility, KNUST had provided them with a police post.

She expressed appreciation to the management and staff of the university, for their collaborative support in an effort to combat crime in the area.

DCOP Augustine Gyening, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, who inaugurated the police post called on hostel operators to put in place security measure such as CCTV cameras to assist the police.

In his view, since criminal gangs also operated with strategies, it had become imperative for hostel operators to make it difficult for the hoodlums to make hostel and students their target.

He appealed to community chiefs to earmark places for police stations during demarcation and selling of plots of land.