Trust Fund Launched For Police Service

A Fund to cater for the welfare and operations of the police dubbed ‘Police Service Trust Fund’ (POLTRUST), has been launched in Accra with a call on indivi-duals, private and corporate organisations to assist the Police dispense their constitutional mandate. Launching it on Tuesday, the Minister of Interior, Kwamena Bartels, said the police play an important role to ensure peace and order in the country.

He said that “over the years the service has performed creditably well in spite of the constraints and challenges.

Mr. Bartels said that in as much as the police are doing their best, it was also appropriate that the public recognises their role especially in the maintenance of peace, law and order but need support in the discharge of their duties.

He said that maintenance of law and order was a collective responsibility and should not to be seen as the mandate of the police and other law enforcement agencies alone.

Let us be frank about this, we all have to contribute to build up the kind of excellence in policing what we consider so essential.

“Indeed, all efforts of the police, will come to naught without the support of the public and as such, improving security within our community must be the concern of all.”

The Minister said as citizens it behoves on all to help the police and other security agencies to maintain law and order.

“This is necessary because without a measure of solidarity no society can be truly stable and peaceful and no one’s property can truly be secured,” he added.

Mr. Bartels assured the service and other security agencies of the government’s preparedness to assist them fight crime.

“We, in government, have noted that to sustain the current level of macro-economic achievement in massive infrastructural development, sustainable social welfare and the promotion of democratic principles such as freedom of speech and rule of law, we must deal with the crime situation,” he said.

The chairman of the Police Council, Justice Sam Glenn Baddoo, said the purpose of the fund was to complement efforts of the government in making the service efficient in the discharge of its lawful duties.

He said that the ratio of the police to the citizenry fall far below the United Nations recommended level of one policeman to 500 people. adding that the service had embarked on a recruitment drive to ensure that they meet the recommended levels of the United Nations.

The Inspector General of Police, Patrick Acheampong, was full of praise for the Police Council and Alhaji Asuma Banda for the initiative made by establishing the fund.

He assured the public of police determination to fight crime to the minimum.