I have observed for some time now the fire fighting approach in crime combat in Ghana by the Ghana Police service.
In some instances, people misconstrue the efforts of the Police and other times their perception is true.
But in all the Police has the sole constitutional mandate of maintaining law and order among others.
How are the Police executing this mandate of maintaining law and order.
It’s often the fire fighting approach. We allow events to happen before we initiate action to deal with the resultant effect. We go back to sleep and wait for another occurrence to start asking the questions we should have asked earlier.
It has become an acceptable practice and that is a mark of weakness.
My other issue has to do with the relationship between the police and the public. Crime fighting is a shared responsibility.
The success of every law enforcement organisation to a very large extent depends on the cooperation of the public.
The police certainly cannot be everywhere but the public is everywhere. A good relationship would generate free flow of information and effective crime combat.
But the public is constantly shown where power lies.
The average Police officer wants to look down on anyone except his colleague or superior. When they maltreat you and later gets to know you are one of them, they go like “why didn’t you introduce yourself.”
On one breath, you hear police communicators urging the public to support the police. On the other hand, their men are putting fear on the very person you seek his cooperation.
As it stands now, what are the existing structures to meaningfully engage the public. In fact, I’m even diverting my thoughts.
What I want to say is that state institutions take plans and policies without any security considerations. When implementation challenges occur the police are called to come in.
By the time they arrive at the scene, the unexpected would have happened.
Political parties are victims of this.
The EC is embarking on a security risk policy to dealing with the issues of the alleged bloated voters register.
I don’t know if the police are duly involved or whether the police themselves are aware that the issue has security implications. We will be called one day to put out the fire.
This is part of the whole elections process.
My worry is that when we refused to make our inputs now, then we should prepare for another fire fighting.
These excesses creates the exigencies of our service and we are made to work over time and and unfavourable conditions. There is no problem with that but the labourer deserve his wages.
I mean the police officer deserves better under the exigencies of his job. The CI.76 said so. The people of ghana said so.
The question is, what is preventing the full implementation of the CI.76 when the everyday job of the police officer is always almost under the exigencies , yet he is not compensated.
In as much as we continue to adopt this fire fighting approach in crime combat the exigencies of our job will be a daily routine.
Please IGP, ensure the full implementation of the CI.76. D/CPL.
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By: Samuel Naawerebagr
The writer is a Police officer at the Upper West regional Police command.
Email: 0208318973
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