Police in armed robbery?

The Daily Graphic reported on Tuesday about the arrest of four senior police officers for their alleged role in a robbery case in Accra. Just yesterday, the paper again reported that an immigration officer stationed at Elubo border, in the western region has also been arrested for reportedly snatching a car from an Accra based business man, after stabbing him several times.

By law, an accused person is presumed to be innocent until he or she is found guilty by a legally constituted court. As a result of this, we cannot conclude that the accused security officers are guilty of the crime they are being accused of. The Chronicle is, however, worried about the allegations because it can undermine the integrity of the security services if it turns out to be true.

Some few months ago, the Police service was in the news for all the bad reasons when cocaine stored in the exhibit room mysteriously went missing. Though a committee was set up to investigate the case, no single person has been arrested and prosecuted.

For this latest development, which follows in the heels of the cocaine matter, means that there is something wrong with the Police service, which can only be dealt with through background checking of new recruits.

We might not be referring to the four personnel who have been arrested for the alleged robbery, but it seems to The Chronicle that some criminals have found their way into the Police service and are tarnishing the image of the institution. To purge the service of these criminal elements, The Chronicle suggests that the Regional commander or even the IGP herself, must first approve of every cocaine or armed robbery operation before it is carried out. If this was done, it would establish whether the intended operation is legal or not.

We further suggest that any personnel caught in any dubious act must be dismissed and handed over for prosecution.

There are Police officers who have dedicated themselves to their professional duties, and they must not allow the few miscreants to destroy their hard won reputation.