‘Lynching Can’t Stop Armed Robbery‘

AUTHOR of the much publicised book, “Fighting Armed Robbery in Ghana”, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, has stated that the real solution to the problem of armed robbery in the country does not lie in lynching, bloodshed or vigilante justice.

People, he noted, should not see vengeance as a solution to the problem because “it has never worked anywhere else in this world”.

For him, the menace which had enveloped the country and making life miserable for agile citizens could only be remedied if people paid greater attention to families' welfare and changes in society.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE after launching his masterpiece on Thursday evening at the British Council, Prof Agyemang Attafuah said:

“I am of the view that if the contents of the book are properly digested and its policy recommendations applied, it would assist individuals to better protect themselves from the menace of armed robbery; better enable families to secure themselves and teach their children how to be smart on the streets and secure their businesses and homes”.

Earlier on in his statement, he emphasised that “a lot of us have armed ourselves but the more we arm ourselves as a people, the more endangered the issue would become,” quoting Desmond Tutu as saying “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth will only sooner or later make a country of blind and toothless people”.

In addition, he believed that the book provided simple practical policy choices which “this country ought to make so as to envision, programme and achieve a society that is relatively free of the menace that has agonized this nation”.

He however prophesized that within the next 10 years, Ghana would be relatively free from violent crimes and armed robbery than any other society elsewhere.

Armed robbery, according to the criminologist, is a product of a long sustained misgovernance alongside corruption constructed by elected leaderships who are incompetent and generally exhibit gross disrespect towards the rights of citizenry, adding that the poor urban development structures also provided opportunities for the growth of urban criminalities.

He noted that eight other factors, which implicated armed robbery in the country, have been outlined in the 332-paged book.

Meanwhile, his inspiration for writing this epic book came from public dialogue on the issue between the period of 1998 and 2006.

The Director of Television at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Kofi Bucknor, who reviewed the book, said the most important thing about the piece was its “laid down and systematic process where everyone of us in society can find some instructions and advice as to how we can manage this system in our country”.

For the law enforcement agencies, the book represented a significant role in addition to their already existing laws.

By Nathaniel Y.Yankson & Yepoka Yeebo