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24.01.2006 Crime & Punishment

Don't politicise or tribalise crime - ACP Boachie

24.01.2006 LISTEN
By GNA

Tamale, Jan 24, GNA - Assistant Commissioner of Police Kofi Boachie, the Director-General of Police Operations, has called on Ghanaians not to politicise crime or tribalize it. He said: "Politicising or tribalising crime does not only make the work of the police difficult but also defeats the purpose for policing".

ACP Boachie made the call during an interaction with journalists in Tamale on Sunday.

Mr Boachie is on a two-day tour of police units in conflict areas of the Northern Region that would take him to Salaga, Bimbilla and Yendi districts.

Mr Boachie said what Ghanaians needed now was proper policing to entrench the democratic process and appealed to politicians not to interfere in the work of the police.

He said: "Crime is crime and anybody who commits it must be made to face the law without regard to his or her political, social or economic status.''

Mr Boachie appealed to chiefs, clan heads and elders of the communities to partner the police to promote and sustain the peace in the region.

"We need to secure the support of the people, taking into cognisance their culture and tradition. We also need to work with all the factions in conflicts to achieve peace." He therefore urged the police to remain neutral, pointing out that policing must be done by consensus.

Mr Boachie reminded the people that no development could take place when they were engaged in conflict and appealed to them to learn to forgive one another and live peacefully to fight poverty, ignorance and disease.

He said apart from draining the country's resources, conflicts also reduced the strength of the police to fight other crimes in society.

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