SOS message from Northern Police Give us more men & weapons… To fight against crime & ensure peace

The new Northern Regional Police Commander, ACP Angwubutoge Awuni has underscored the need for government to increase the number of Police Personnel in the region and provide them with the requisite accoutrements that would enhance their avowed quest to curtail the frequent conflicts that had bedeviled the region in recent years.

Apart from their weak staff strength, the Police in the Northern Region, he said, had very limited armaments, means of transport and other logistics that could assist them to clamp down on the high incidence of violence emanating from chieftaincy, politics and land disputes, as well as the emerging highway robbery engulfing the area.

Meanwhile, majority of the residents in the north are believed to have in their possession, some highly sophisticated weapons that completely outweigh those in the Police armories, due to the absence of peace and trust among the people. Addressing a meeting of Senior Police Officers and other ranks across the region at the Police Headquarters in Tamale, ACP Awuni challenged the personnel to rise up to their duties with the resources available, to ensure absolute peace in the north and to pave way for accelerated development.

He entreated the various District and Division Commanders to wage a relentless war on indiscipline among service personnel to forestall the confidence of the public in the police. ACP Awuni also reminded the Commanders to take note of the service Act 350/70 and L.I. 880 and the Police Service Regulation 993 which talk about internal behaviour as well as breaches and punishments. He also called for neatness, punctuality and alertness on duty to bring about efficiency.

“Personnel who extort monies from complainants and suspects before cases are received and bail granted must seize from such practices as the service will have no room for such characters,” he said.

ACP Angwubutoge Awuni, who took office from DCOP Ofosu Mensah-Gyeabour, said his administration would strictly combat crime in the region by way of intensifying the highway patrol mechanism on the Tamale-Kintampo and Tamale-Bolgatanga highways in the night, whilst he Buipe patrol team stand by at Mpaha junction.

Due to the inadequate patrol vehicles, Regional Police Boss has directed all District Officers in the region to use their service vehicles for patrols on the major roads linking their districts to others and again appealed to the District Assemblies to support the police with vehicles to enhance their work.

The District Commanders are also mandated to mount checkpoints on the major roads in the night to conduct searches in order to intercept movements of arms and ammunitions, narcotics, stolen items and other contraband goods. He appealed to the youth groups, traditional and religious leaders to cooperate fully with the Police in protecting lives and properties.

ACP Angwubutoge Awuni therefore also called on the government and other communication companies to assist the Police with up-to-date communication gadgets to enhance their work, modern weapons, vehicles, decent accommodation and also improve their condition of service. He finally declared his readiness to legitimately fire any officer who would drag the name of the service into disrepute, or go against the laws governing the police service.