Ghana Police: We Want To Be A Reference Point For Policing

The Ghana Police Service has for the umpteenth time said it is working to become the best institution in the country and improve to be a reference point for the rest of the world.

“When we say this, we don’t say it lightly”, the Inspector-General of Police, George Akufo Dampare said, noting that it may not happen now but eventually.

“It may not happen during our time but we are very sure and convinced that we will create the environment and position the organisation that nobody can reverse that course of becoming the best institution in the country and a reference point in the world.”

Speaking on the theme “The Changing Face Of Policing in Ghana: Expectations And The Role Of The University Community” at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dampare said the new form of policing was adopted from the Pre Colonial policing, Colonial policing and Postcolonial policing systems.

With the modern-day policing system, the Police service said it has achieved a lot as it lives its mandate.

Police Assessment
The IGP said his outfit has carried out an assessment of the general public on their motive about the Service and found trust, confidence, and respect in the police missing.

The service explained that “We found that in your perspective we are still underperforming; We show zero partnership with the public; we are unprofessional; we are an occupying force and not friends and Corrupt”.

The Service stressed that the three missing attributes have weakened the legitimacy “we need badly”.

The introspection, the IGP said, was “to get the strategic focus to turn the corner” and get things right with the public.

According to him the view of the general public is in sharp contrast to that of the Police Service which believes it is near its target, creating “a gap”.

Dealing With The Gap
In dealing with the Gap, the IGP said it realised three different options.

Either it ignores, pretends to be doing something or does everything possible to close the gap.

The Ghana Police Service has chosen to do whatever possible to close the gap with a change in mindset and realisation of reality.

“We (Police) must bear in mind that we are employees and you are our masters. We are employees of yours that is why we are called public servants and anytime you see a servant, you must be looking for the master and you are the master”, he said.

Additionally, “we saw that very soon we will become civilians one more time so if you mess up with the quality of policing it will catch up with us.

“Our families are also experiencing the same quality of policing and so whatever we do to improve the Police service, we do it for ourselves”.

He furthered that the service is keeping in mind that there is always room for improvement and that posterity is the best judge.

Public Expectation Is Manageable
After formulating the measures to close the gap and scanning through the concerns and expectations of the public once again, the IGP said it realised that the expectations are feasible.

“You just want to be protected and your property protected; you just want a secure and peaceful community; equitable application of the law; you want us to get the few bad guys out of the Service so that our name is polished; more importantly you want to partner with us; and whether the person is a suspect, complainant or witness you expect us to treat such with respect and dignity”.

Internal Policing Policies
In Changing the phase of policing internally in the Service, the IGP said he has adopted three strategic policies including Leadership driven by control, Welfare of the personnel and Ensuring police professionalism and accountability

“We have instituted a practical leadership-driven command and control culture at all levels of the service such that personnel at all levels of the service are clear in their minds of what needs to be done and see to it that appropriate steps are taken to get it done”.

This, he said, will make personnel leaders at any point in time when personnel need to respond to calls. In that, the IGP noted that personnel will be provided with the necessary backing of the Service when they act professionally.

It is also creating an environment of recognition, reward, and punishment transparently.

The second policy is Personnel development and Development. By this, the Service has instituted changes in training recruits and grants exposure to personnel.

Dr Dampare said that recruits now undergo 75-80% practice and 20% theory and touted that “For the first time in the history of this country and probably in West Africa and beyond, we have police officers passing out knowing how to write, drive, swim…We have the opportunity to go for UN missions so that we get international exposure”.

“We have established a regional welfare directorate across the whole country for all the 18 police regions. We have instituted a mechanism to ensure that ill-disposed personnel are visited…we have institutionalised it such that they feel that we will always be there for {them} and we won’t abandon them”.

Dr Dampare also noted that a Police Emergency Medical Intervention Fund has been established to cater for personnel who get injured in the line of duty within 24-48 hours as well as a Virtual Police Medical Centre to help police access medical care no matter the proximity.

For personnel near retirement, a retirement plan has been formulated. It also provides a course to prepare the minds of personnel nearing retirement.

Additionally, personnel nearing retirement will be posted to a place of their choice two years before retirement to help them acclimate to the environment, the IGP disclosed.

Personnel have an option to present a next of kin to enrol in the service when they die in the line of duty, he added.

External Policing Measure
Externally, the police service has adopted what it calls Community Engaging Policing; Scientific Intelligence-led Policing Strategy; Proactive Transportation Management Deepening and Inter-agency Collaboration.

For Community engaging policing the Service said it is increasing the number of police officers out on the streets with 2000 motorbikes to be deployed soon across the highways, dogs, and horses.

It is also conducting proactive engagements and reactive engagements which entail visits to a crime scene or communities by the IGP, Regional Commander, District Commander or Divisional Commander.

For Scientific Intelligence-led Policing, the Service says it has established regional intelligence departments, hotspot policing and missing person units.

In the same regard, the IGP said it has the cultivation of informants across the country.

“The pool of informants we have commercialised. When you bring a piece of information and it is authentic, we operationalise the information we get and then pay between GHc100 and GHC50,000 because that is how we are committed to protecting you. If I’m to tell you the people on that payroll, maybe you will take it as a second job. These are all the things we are doing to keep you safe.”

For Proactive Transportation Management, the IGP said it has in place measures that cover security on water bodies too coupled with, the Police Action Against Rider Indiscipline, and Passenger Liaison Officer which is in the offing.

In deepening intervention, the Police Service intends to apply ICT.

Finally, the IGP urged the public, “We cannot do it alone. We need your help”.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini