Ashaiman, Feb 18, GNA - Mr. Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashaiman, on Thursday charged the Ashaiman Police to improve their relationship with the public. He also advised them to treat civilians and those in their custody well, in order to gain trust from the public. Mr. Agbesi made the call during a day's visit by members of the Parliamentary Select-Committee on the Interior and Defence,to the Ashaiman Police Station.
The 25-member Committee was led by Captain (Rtd) George Nfojoh, Vice Chairman, and MP for Ho Central. The visit followed the death of two inmates at the Ashaiman Police cell on February 6, and the collapse of three others due to suffocation and congestion.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Augustine Gyening, Tema Regional Police Commander, assured the Committee that some of the inmates would be transferred to Prisons to de-congest the cells. He disclosed that the Ashaiman Police Station was constructing a new Charge Office to enable expansion works on the Cells to go on. ACP Gyening said plans were underway to ensure proper ventilation in the cells, and also to make the place conducive for inmates. Alhaji Alidu Iddrisu Zakari, MP for Walewale, and a member of the Committee, was of the view that the Ashaiman Police Station needed to be re-located, because its present location also contributed to the challenges confronting the Ashaiman Police Command. He advised the Police to liaise with opinion leaders as well as traditional rulers in the community to be able to relate well with the public.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) John Kudalor, Commander- in- charge of Operations, thanked the Committee for the visit, and promised that the Police would heed to their advice. He also called on the government to help construct a modern Police Station with housing units at Ashaiman to make life in custody conducive for the inmates, as well as the Police Personnel.
