Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, Ashanti Regional antibiotics Police Commander, has advised personnel of the service to desist from the excessive intake of alcohol, and work to ensure that they were disciplined, whilst on duty.
He said situations whereby some personnel were found drunk and reeking in alcohol while on duty would not be countenanced anymore.
He said the police command would soon clamp down on such individuals to ensure effective policing and maintenance of public trust in the Service.
Mr Boakye gave the advice at the opening of a new police station, financed by the chiefs and people of the Ahenkro community in the Afigya-Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
It is the fourth of such community-initiated police stations which have been inaugurated by the Command in recent times.
The other three were constructed by the chiefs and people of Asokore-Mampong, Atonsu, near Asante-Mampong and Atwima-Bokro in the Atwima-Kwanwoma district.
DCOP Boakye explained that gone were the days when some police personnel misconducted themselves anyhow while on duty and brought the image of the Service into disrepute without any punitive action.
He said now that government had resourced the Service well and individuals, organisations and other stakeholders were willing to partner government to provide needed logistics for personnel, much would be expected of them in the discharge of their duties.
DCOP Boakye said the provision of police stations was not the preserve of government,and it was highly commendable that most community members were beginning to see that their security lay in their own hands.
The Regional Police Commander congratulated the chiefs and people of Ahenkro for constructing the one-storey edifice, which would provide a charge office, station officer’s office, criminal investigation department, male and female cells, wash rooms and residential accommodation for personnel.
He promised that the Police would collaborate with the people to curb crime in the area, and advised them to always give information on any criminal activity to the police.
DCOP Boakye, however, appealed to parents to advise their children to desist from breaking the law since the police would not relent on enforcing the law.
Mr Kwaku Oppong Kyekyeku Kaakyire, District Chief Executive for Afigya-Kwabre, said the district, with a population of 140,000 people in 96 towns, had only four police stations.
This, he said, has been affecting the maintenance of security in the area, and commended the chief, Nana Adofo Ahenkro Osei Ababio the third, for the initiative, which had relieved the Assembly of some of its responsibilities.
He said the Assembly would expand facilities at the Kodie police station to be able to increase personnel, and thereby improve the security situation in the district capital
Nana Adofo Ahenkro Osei Ababio the third, the chief of the town said, where there was no law and order, there was bound to chaos and appealed to police personnel to prioritize the peace and security of the people by bringing down criminal activities in the area.
He advised the police administration to ensure regular maintenance of the building to prolong its lifespan.
Source: GNA