To Be Forewarned……

The fatal shooting of a cop at La Paz in Accra is an indication about how daring criminals have become of late. Not responding accordingly would expose the citizenry to avoidable danger.

Should the criminals overpower our frontline defence, the law enforcement agents, the citizenry would be open to obvious danger, an imminent insecurity which should be addressed with all the powers of the state.

By their action, in broad daylight, the criminals are exhibiting their preparedness to go the full hog in their bid to rob and kill at will; the presence of law enforcement agents notwithstanding.

A number of options must be considered as a response. We are aware about how the killing of the cop has jolted the law enforcement system into thinking about appropriate responses but we too outside the black uniform could render suggestions which could go a long way in addressing the challenge.

We thought bullet-proof vests were provided the Ghana Police Service to be used by those on duties like bank security and the like. It would be important to consider equipping cops appropriately before they set out to their duty points. Merely donning the uniform and wielding an AK 47 is not an adequate protection for the cop who must call the bluff of daring armed robbers who would be baying for his life when they set their attention on the target he is protecting.

The budgetary allocation to the Ghana Police Service is worth reviewing given the fresh and ominous challenges facing them these days. Now policemen are not safe when they don their uniforms as they travel – doing so incognito being a better option. They are the first targets of armed robbers when they spot them on buses traveling across the country.

Side weapons, pistols and a total overhauling of the equipment of policemen and women on guard duties of any form should be considered as a matter of priority.

Wearing of bullet-proof vests must be made compulsory by all cops especially when the authorities provide all of them with the protection.

Policemen and women are trained to come and protect lives and properties not to come and die like fowls in the street in broad day light at the hands of criminals.

The criminals should not have their way. They must be stopped now so Ghanaians can have the assurance that they have not taken over the country.

The number of policemen killed this year by criminals is too staggering and worrying to be ignored. We do not intend pressing the panic button but wish to only remind all that armed robbers are dangerous elements and so whoever finds something suspicious about those in the neighbourhood let them report these to the Police who would be able to do the necessary checks to establish whether they are criminals or not.

Much as we appreciate the enormity of the challenges posed by the now more daring armed robbers we oppose the politicization of the trend.

They seek to create the impression that those at the helm are the reason armed robbers have become daring in their desperate bid to cast aspersion on the government. If this does not sound imbecile we do not know what else does.

Police records would reveal how criminals have, even in the past, showed the tendency to be brazen in their operations. That is not to suggest in anyway that they have overcome the law enforcement system. How dare they!

All we have to do under the circumstances is come together as a people and support the Police to overcome the hoodlums. We can if we join hands. Not, however, when we resort to pettiness and sheer envy.