Police holds community safety forum for residents at Agbogba

Accra, May 1, GNA - The District Commander of the Accra-North-East Divisional Police, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Mr David Eklu on Friday educated traders and landlords at Agbogba-Hatso on community safet= y at a forum. He told them that the Agbogba-Hatso road in recent past had been not= ed by the police as a crime prone zone where miscreants some on motorbikes carry out their criminal activities.

CSP Eklu said common among such activities are the snatching of peop= les' belongings such as handbags and mobile phones. The forum was also to interact with community members and know their=

needs and problems having assumed office recently as the Accra-North-East=

District Police Commander. CSP Eklu said it was important they observed certain basic safety ru= les in their community in order to be able to prevent and combat crime. He added that the police would continue to visit them and alert them= on the various strategies adopted by armed robbers. CSP Eklu noted, however, that because the police have intensified their patrols in crime prone areas, there has been reduction in crime rat= e. He told the gathering to guard seriously against their precious jewelries, Laptops, electronic sound systems and watches, which the robbe= rs could easily steal, hide and sell.

CSP Eklu also noted that there were security lapses in most homes a= nd therefore advised the traders and the landlords to tell their children to= be careful with calls from strange persons since such people could be gather= ing information to attack them. During question time, the traders mentioned Ritz Junction, Agbogba Junction, Suncity, Purewater, Abladjei, Dar-Elsalam, Pantang and Ablade junctions as some of the areas that crime had been on the ascendancy. In response, the District Commander, said the areas identified ofte= n experienced traffic jams, which made it easy for the criminals to attack motorists. He said they snatched people items from their cars and advised them= to always roll their side glasses up while driving. CSP Eklu told the community members to form watchdog committee to assist the Police in patrolling their areas. He reminded them that these watchdogs would be screened before allowing them to assist the police and they must always make sure to motivate the members of the watchdog. SCP Eklu asked them to always contact the police whenever they have=

problems and appealed to the residents to assist the Police Container Pos= t to function effectively.

A participant later suggested to the police to ensure that petrol filling stations installed security cameras at their premises to help capture criminal activities.