Police Service to use technology to tackle ‘mob justice’ 

The Police administration says it is employing the use of technology to arrest and prosecute persons who exact what has become known as instant justice on suspected criminals.

“The Police has commenced an exercise, employing the use of modern technology, including cameras to arrest and prosecute all persons who take the law into their own hands and exact instant justice,” a statement from the Police Service said.

A video that recently went viral on social media captured a woman who was accused of stealing from a vendor at Kejetia market, being beaten and stripped naked by a mob.

The Police Service, in a statement issued on Thursday warned the general public to desist from such acts, saying “persons who visit instant justice on suspected criminals may themselves be committing crimes such as assault and murder, where the victim dies, and are liable for prosecution.”

According to the Police Service “no one is deemed guilty of any offence until so proven by a competent court of jurisdiction.”

The Director of Police Public Affairs, Superintendent Cephas Arthur in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show also admitted that cases of instant justice were indeed on the rise.

He said the Police Service is devising measures to address the problem.

“There is an insurgence in cases of mob action and we cited the lady's incident as a reference point. It is a holistic approach and a call on the general public on the phenomenon of instant justice. It is a sketch that comes and goes and when it comes, we deal with them and educate the public and ensure the problem is addressed.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana