Stop Taking ‘Bribes’—Interior Minister Tells Police Officers

As a means of promoting police visibility and security in all communities, a new Police Station has been inaugurated at the Atomic Hills in the Ashongman Estates in Accra. This brings to three, new Police Stations opened in the Dome /Kwabenya area recently.

For a long time the large and ever expanding community with many houses, shopping centers and schools has been without a Police Station. Police presence in the Ashongman Estates was not being felt leaving the area in danger of attacks by criminals. Indeed there had been reports of women being attacked by hooligans who snatched their bags and other valuable items in dark alleys of the area.

The Minister of the Interior Hon. Kwasi Ahwoi who inaugurated the Police Station expressed the hope that the police men to be in charge of the new station would live up to expectation by working hard to protect the citizens of the area.

However, because security is a shared responsibility he called on all sections of the society to offer a helping hand to achieve security and peace in all communities. He urged police men to maintain good standards and self respect by staying clear from taking gifts which are called 'bribes' from suspects. This he said leads to lowering their dignity, compromise and dilute their professionalism before the suspects and all Ghanaians.

The Police Station began in a container but was later given a face lift and built with concrete blocks by the Local Council of Churches in the Ashongman Estates. As religious groupings the churches decided to provide the area with a police station for the police to be able to enforce law and order as the churches also pursue their mandate of preaching to ensure moral transformation in the area. Hon. Ahwoi congratulated the leadership and members of the Local Council of Churches for a wonderful gift of a Police Station to the police.

He said that 'the police station provided by the churches indicates public spiritedness of members of the community. By that they recognize the role of the police in ensuing law and order and are ready and willing to contribute to effective law enforcement'. He said

Hon. Ahwoi said further that, 'when communities get involved in police community initiatives and collaboration, crime rates are reduced. There is the need to step up efforts to encourage more communities to join in fighting crimes in our localities.

Police -community collaboration is manifested in the 'neighborhood watch concept' 'informant system' and other forms of police tip off and physical support which engenders confidence in the police towards effective policing.

Elsewhere in advanced countries, he said that the police see the general population as genuine partners in the fight against crime. The citizenry trust the police and call upon them to volunteer information at the slightest smell of public misdemeanor or crime. The police act swiftly and have in fact gained the confidence of the population. This is a useful lesson to be learnt and practiced in our community and beyond'.

At the end of the program public spirited persons and organizations including the Ashongman Estates Muslim community led by Imam Toure of the Ashongman Estates Mosque offered donations towards equipping the police station.