Upper West Regional personnel of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service have undergone extensive detective training to be abreast of contemporary policing.
The two weeks programme trained about 100 CID men and women drawn from all 13 districts and municipalities in the region to be proactive, exhibit professionalism at all times, and maintain integrity and respect for divergent public and individual opinions.
Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Kwame Agblor, Director General of CID, who closed the training, said the thematic areas were purposefully done and based on contemporary crime trends adding that criminals were daily becoming sophisticated in their activities and, therefore, police operations must be in tune.
He said one of the perfect ways to counter criminal activities was consistent upgrading of police personnel’s knowledge on crime, social protection, human rights and related areas. Mr Agblor advised the participants to be guided by professional conduct because police duties, when carried out unprofessionally, may trigger agitations from community members.
He urged the participants not to meddle in civil matters, demonstrate respect for human rights and avoid all forms of corrupt practices as well as do due diligence to all duties assigned them. He said the capacity building programme initiated by the Police Administration was aimed at bringing crime in the country to its barest minimum.
Mr Agblor called for support from the general public to fight crime because the Police Administration alone could not achieve that mandate and reminded members of the public, especially those in the Upper East Region, to be weary of the enormous communal conflicts resulting from chieftaincy and land disputes.
Superintendent Alex Asamoah-Frimpong, Upper East Regional Crime Officer, said participants were taken through basic investigative skills such as Interviewing and Interrogation, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Law of Evidence and Crime Scene Investigations.
He expressed worry about the number of investigators in the region which stood at about 110 personnel and said the number was woefully inadequate to handle the criminal cases recorded in the region.
Mr Asamoah-Frimpong said following proactive measures put in place by the regional police command, crime such as robbery, murder, stealing and cattle rustling had reduced drastically, thereby, giving members of the public the opportunity to go about their daily duties peacefully.
He, however, said in spite of the successes chalked, there were still other manageable challenges confronting the Department especially regarding crime combat and mentioned intelligence gathering as extremely difficult to undertake because the people were unwilling to talk.
He said most of the crimes committed were perpetrated using motor bikes and, therefore, appealed to the Police Administration to provide the region with motor bikes to enable the police to successfully combat crime.
