Police Service to launch

Elmina (C/R), Aug. 20, GNA - The Ghana Police Service (GPS) would soon launch a 'transformational Agenda' aimed at putting pressure on Government to adequately equip the Service to better carry out its duties.

The "Agenda' also seeks to help make the Ghana Police Service a world-class police service, using democratic policing principles and best practices for the execution of its statutory objectives.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr Benjamin Agordzo, Director at the Transformational Office of the GPS said this at the opening of the 5th biennial general meeting of the "Course 40 Association" of the GPS at Elmina on Saturday.

The meeting, which was held under the theme 'the Transformational agenda: expectations and role of commanders', offered members of "Course 40" to deliberate on issues affecting the police service and how they could help improve the standards of policing in Ghana.

He expressed worry that Ghanaians unduly castigated the police for non-performance and label its personnel as unprofessional even though it was inadequately resourced to deliver on its statutory mandate.

ACP Dr Agordzo said though it is mandatory for the State to equip and maintain the Police Service, a lot was expected from the Service.

It is therefore out of place for the public to constantly castigate them for non-performance without consideration to the virtually non-availability of the resources and logistics needed for its smooth operations.

Ironically, he said, personnel of the Service who were constantly castigated, performed creditably on international assignments with the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and other international organisations because all the necessary policing logistics and resources were available.

ACP Dr Agordzo said the irony meant that some gaps were left un-addressed in the GPS must be given attention or else there was no moral justification for people to blame the Police for non-performance.

He said in-service training was very vital to the performance of its personnel but lack of funds to organise regular training as bane of the Service adding that 'it is pathetic that some personnel have been in the service for more than ten years but have not been given any in-service training".

Superintendent Alfred Kudah, President of the Course 40 Association, said the theme for the meeting was carefully selected to ensure that commanders embraced the transformation needed to improve work performance in the Service.

He expressed optimism that commanders would appreciate the issues better and help in transforming the police service.

Superintendent Kudah said policing is a shared responsibility and appealed to the general public to show interest and assist the police to provide maximum security and protection of property by volunteering vital information on criminals' hideouts.

GNA

By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA