GHANAIANS HAVE been urged to make use of the police crime fighters number '18555' in times of distress or during attacks by criminals.

At a public educational campaign held at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, Accra Regional Police Commander said the number was introduced by the police in collaboration with the British High Commission, Vodafone and MTN.

Subscribers of Vodafone and MTN can call the number   toll free but everyone else will have to pay for it while the police administration works to include the remaining mobile networks in the initiative.

He said the number is to help the police reach out to the public and respond promptly to distress calls.

18555 is a police emergency number introduced some years ago to add to the existing 191 emergency number.

'Do not wait until the situation gets out of hand before you call the police. If you know about the hideout of criminals, or if there is any criminal activity going on in your area, all you have to do is call the number for the police to respond. It is the duty of the public to help the police since policing is a shared responsibility,' he said.

 
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With the number, the public can provide relevant information about the hideouts of criminals, robberies and other criminal activities.

Adding his voice, Cillian George Walsh, a representative of the British High Commission said it is important to make the number a household one.

Use of the number has helped the police arrest a number of criminals across the country.

Representatives of Vodafone and MTN who took turns to address the public said there is no competition when it comes to crime fighting and assured their continuous support in helping the police fight crime.

The event was also used to hand out crime fighting brochures to members of the public.

 By Linda Tenyah