The Recent Spate of Police Robberies and Police Misconducts: My Perspective

From what is happening around the world today, crime and criminal activities appear to be permanent features of modern society. Although it has been with humankind since from creation, it is on the ascendancy of recent. Classically, it began when Cain killed Abel in the Garden of Aden.

Quickly, let me define the key concepts in my thesis statement. ie " robbery" and " police misconduct ". Robbery has been formally defined as the taking or attempt to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and or by putting the victim in fear(McGoy, 2010). Simply put, robbery is theft from a person by use of force or fear.

However, police misconduct according to the USA Homeland Security, encompasses illegal or unethical actions or the violations of individuals' constitutional rights by Police officers in the conduct of their duties. That they include police brutality, dishonesty, fraud, coercion, torture to force confessions, abuse of authority, and sexual assault, including the demand for sexual favours in exchange for leniency. In our case and generally speaking, misconduct can be said of as an umbrella statement that encompasses all unlawful acts or actions on the part of serving members of the Ghana Police Service.

Moving away from definitions, Ghana within a spate of less than 3 weeks has recorded 3 robberies involving suspected Policemen with an addition case of one involved in the training of armed robbers. These developments does not potend well for the image of the service and society in general. But then the question that society should be asking is what has gone wrong in society itself that has made us to find ourselves in this quagmire. In other words, why is it that the segment of society that is mandated by law to apprehend and prosecute criminals have some of its members turn to crime. We all would agree that there are probable fault lines or factors acounting accounting for these developments

First, community laws or norms appear favourable to crime perpetration and condonation. Society glorifies elitism whout recourse to the sources of wealth of people.

Second, the inherent disorganization of our communities and break down of family values. Many Ghanaian families today bring up their young ones without codes.

Also, recourse to individialism has made many of us not to be our brother's keeper.

Moreso, recently you wake up and see people living life styles with dubious pedigrees around us.

Furthermore, despite the aforementioned fractures in our society, we the members of the "black uniform" fraternity should remember the Oath we took on our induction into the service and live a life that extols the various lines in that oath.

If ande the government, setting it's objectives, policies, and priorities must see to it that among others and the C.I. 76 are fully implemnted to alleviate the plight of personnels.

Felix Ahadzi
Deputy Police PRO
Eastern Region