Speaking to journalists in Accra on Thursday, Mr. Amissah-Arthur stressed that investing in training was also an investment in proactive policing.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OGeod5Ku7smRHeDr0vvySTDs0LdveefG”]The former Veep, who was once the Chairman of the Ghana Police Council, admitted that the police have always been under-resourced.

“When I was chairman of the council, we procured armoured vests for them and so on. The IGP will be in the Flagstaff House and the Finance Ministry looking for resources, especially for training. I think that people are always looking for transport and so on.”

He reminded that “a world-class forensic lab” was established for the police under the previous government. He however questioned “how useful it has been” considering the lack of the needed skills in running it.

“I think that training is also a very important part. It will not show in new equipment that they can display at the Black Star Square on March 6, but maybe it is even more effective in interdicting the criminals before they are able to do harm to us. I hope they will also put a focus on the training,” Mr. Amisah Arthur said.

Nonetheless, he said the police still had to act effectively to stem the recent crime wave that has seen a number of daylight robberies, some of which have resulted in deaths.

“There must be ways by which the police; either through informants they have in the underworld, through training techniques, through the forensic capabilities, have to be able to stop the people who are committing these crimes,” he concluded.

GHc800m for police

The government has already stated that it will allocate GH¢ 800million to the Ghana Police Service to ensure improvement in its operations.

The amount is to be used for the procurement of modern policing equipment and gadgets, including helicopters and drones, to enhance the capacity of the service in dealing with crime in the country.

Some aspects of this move have received some criticism though.

President IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, urged the Minister of Interior to stop dreaming about procuring helicopters.

Mr. Cudjoe instead advocated for better police visibility on the streets to deter criminals.

“The police service ought to be properly resourced but when they’ve been so resourced, they shouldn’t use it the way they want. They have to be visible on the streets,” he said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police must improve training of personnel – Amissah-Arthur appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News after police personnel shot and killed two robbers in Accra on Friday, the Regional Commander, DCOP George Alex Mensah said the Serice will do all it takes to protect its officers and the citizenry.

“We shot to protect ourselves. They engaged the Police in a shootout and I don’t want to lose any of my men. I’m not ready to lose a single officer. One of them [Police] had a wound in the arm, he was shot in the arm and this is about the second time that we have killed two people in an exchange,” he said.

DCOP Mensah added that the “[Shooting to kill] has always been the approach of the police. If you try and fight the police with arms, the police will fight back.”

The deceased, identified as Raymond, alias Dragon, and Kwame alias Mafia, were part of a syndicate that recently robbed a fuel station at Haatso.

The Police believe the two were also part of the group that carried out an attack on the Kwabenya District Police station earlier this year, which led to some 7 inmates escaping lawful custody and the killing of an officer on duty, Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi.

The Regional Police command has sent a strong signal that it will deal fiercely with robbers going forward.

Meanwhile, three suspects have been arrested in connection with the recent cases of armed robbery attacks in the country.

Two of them snatched cars in Kumasi, while one is said to have been involved in the recent robbery attack on Royal Motors in the North Industrial Area.

‘Wave of robbery’

There appears to be a heightened wave of robbery attacks in the country with this week being some of the worst cases reported in weeks.

A number of incidents have involved brazen attacks by the robbers on individuals organisations in broad daylight.

A Lebanese was shot and killed at Tema Industrial Area this week with the assailants making away with GHS 200,000 he had withdrawn from a bank minutes earlier

‘We’re in control’

Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has given indications that it is in control of the situation and will go every length to protect the citizenry.

Following the recent developments, the government, together with the various security agencies, announced new steps and directives to address the situation.

The measures include an order for forex bureaus and financial institutions to install CCTV cameras at their workplaces as well as improved police visibility in crime-prone areas.

The top hierarchy of Ghana Police Service has also been reshuffled by the IGP, David Asante-Apeatu with a number of notable changes including George Akuffo Dampare, Director General of Police Operations, being reassigned to head the Police Research and Planning Department.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll ‘shoot-to-kill’ robbers who attack us – Police appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.