Demonization of police is national security risk – Officer

Superintendent Kwabena Otuo Acheampong, Regional Crime Officer, Tema Regional Police Command of the Ghana Police has noted that the consistent attacks on the Police Institution in recent times in the traditional and social media a national security risk.

“As an institution, we don’t condone evil, but in every home there are some few bad nuts…so when a police officer commits crime, the public and the media should not generalize the issues and attacked the Police as an institution.

“We need to focus on the individual who committed the crime, the police institution is bigger than any officer, but if we continue to attack it, we end up demoralizing the hard working personnel, we lose respect in society, the they turn to physically and psychologically abuse us,” he said.

Supt Acheampong stated during the third: “End of Month Stakeholder Engagement and Workers Appreciation Day,” seminar organized by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office which is a platform rolled-out for state and non-state actors to address national issues.

The event also served as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters towards national development in general and growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.

Speaking on: “The state of security within the Tema Region: Role of stakeholders,” Supt. Acheampong stressed the need for building partnership between the Police and Public to effectively combat crime in society.

He said for the police to render world-class service to the nation, it would have to come out of the commitment of members of society to see themselves as part of the police institution and work with the police.

Supt. Acheampong noted that the Police would continue to render excellent service to the nation in consonance with world best practices, but “we need the public’s support, help us to protect life and property in the country, don’t wash the whole institution with one bad personnel’s dirty water”.

He said the Police Service was to secure the Ghanaian society: “Our vision is to be a-world-class service, capable of delivering planned, protective and democratic policing services up to the standard of international best practices.”

He said one indicator that pointed to the police providing an excellent service to society was whether the Public and the Police Service respected each other.

He observed that, in the US for instance, the medical, teaching and police professions were highly respected and that boosted their efforts. “But can we say same about Ghana; do the police respect the public, do the public respect the police”.

The Regional Crime Officer said the excellence of the police could also be measured in how swift they respond to distress calls from the public all things being equal which was indicative of how safe the public was in their communities.

In that regard, Supt. Acheampong said the ability of the police to perform their functions well depended on public approval of police actions, observing that “the police must secure the willing cooperation of the public and voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

Supt. Sandra Akossah, Tema Regional Police Prosecutor contributing to the discussion admonished the public not to see the police in a bad light, the institution of the police is sacred, even though there were some bad individuals among them.

“But the police stand for respect for human right, we stand for service excellence, we stand for integrity, and we can achieve all these when there is a partnership between the police and the public,” she added.

Supt. Akossah noted that the Ghana Police Service was a service delivery organization, and therefore, in as much as there was public expectation on how the police went about their work, the police service also expected the public to give the service feedback through positive and constructive criticisms.

The third GNA-Tema Stakeholder Engagement and Workers Appreciation Day seminar, was attended by the National Commission for Civic Education, Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and the Tema Regional Police Command.

Source: GNA