‘Bail Is Free’

The Director General in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), DCOP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah, has charged detectives not to collect any fee when granting bail to suspects in police custody.

According to her, bail is free and must be maintained as such.

She said any investigator who collects money from suspects as 'bail fee' would be punished when caught by the police administration.

She was speaking in an interview with DAILY GUIDE at the closing ceremony of 83 police detectives drawn from various units of the police service and other sister security services to undergo a seven-week intensive training at the Detective Training School at Police Depot in Accra.

She said suspects have rights for bail if the offence they have been charged for is bailable and if freeing them would not interfere with police investigations; this is done free of charge.

“Suspects have rights for a lawyer before they give out their statements and detectives must respect that aspect as well,” she indicated.

Addressing the participants, the Director General (DG) of the Criminal Investigation Department revealed that her unit would ensure that detectives were well trained to meet their job demands.

She announced that a total of 180 ammunition clerks from the service across the country would also be trained to address the proliferation of small fire ammunitions in the country.

“The issue of small arms going into wrong hands has become a problem so there is the need for education of the clerks on how to help mitigate the threat,” she insisted.

The DG of CID urged participants to endeavour to be security conscious at all times without losing focus, bearing in mind that unscrupulous criminals are always looking for opportunities to strike.

“In recent times, there have also been reports of members of the public being attacked in their vehicles, especially at night and in obscure places. Even though the police continue to provide general security to all of us, there are things we can do to avoid becoming easy targets for unscrupulous persons,” she emphasized.

The DG of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPSB), COP Nathan Kofi Boakye, in an address urged participants to network if they want to promote their career.

He said, “Network enhances productivity. The world is now about 'whom you know' and not 'what you know' so try and network to enhance your work.”

The commandant of the Detective Training School, Superintendent Benjamin Affisah, said personnel were taken through subjects including Money Laundering, Assets Recovery and Management, Financial Crime, Ethics and Integrity, among other subjects.