Ghana Police Ladies Attend Annual IAWP Forum In Canada

Over 50 members of the International Association of Women Police’s (IAWP) wing of the Ghana Police Service and other law enforcement agencies in Ghana, joined hundreds of their colleague police officers from other 35 countries all around the world for the 2018 International Association of Women Police conference in the City of Calgary, Canada.

This year’s event, which took place at the BMO Centre from Aug. 26 to 30, had the theme of the five-day conference as “Leading Change” as participants discussed topics ranging from respect, bullying and harassment, diversity and inclusion, recruiting and employee retention, and organizational change confronting women in law enforcement.

This is the first time the international conference, now in its 56th year, was held in Calgary. The International Association of Women Police was established in Los Angeles in 1915 with the aim of providing professional development, mentoring and training for female law enforcement officers. The organization has members in more than 60 countries as delegates heard from speakers from police services in countries such as Guyana, Norway, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Ghana, Australia, New Zealand amongst others.

In an interview with the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, who also attended this year’s forum, applauded organisers of the conference for their dedication in providing a networking opportunity for female officers. “I hope that participants impact change within their organizations. The conference was started in 1915 and it was built to empower, support and build up women in police organizations,” said DSP Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman in an interview with Canada based ‘Ghanaian News’ Newspaper.

“This year’s conference focused on the policing world and how we can all lead change in our communities and workplace. I’ve been to a couple of conferences where you build friendships, you build mentorships and you build leadership,” she said. “This year’s experience was an incredible one and I must also commend the efforts of the organisers for their wonderful work in putting up such a successful conference. As a participant, I believe we can learn from each other and network with each other. We must learn to move forward, lead that change and be accountable,” she added.

Some of the Ghanaian delegation for this year’s International Association of Women Police (IAWP) conference included COP Mr. Prosper Ablorh, COP Mr. Nathan Kofi Boakye, COP Mrs Beatrice Vib Sanziri , COP Mr Yaggy Akuriba and DCOP Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah. Also with the team were the DCOP Mrs Sabina Mensah (Director of Logistics) and DCOP Dr. Mrs Marian Tetteh-Korboe (Medical Director) alongside personals from the Ghana Immigration Service Immigration led by the Deputy Comptroller-General in-charge of Finance and Administration, Mrs Judith Dzokoto-Lomoh.