Is the police to destroy or protect lives?

The Ghana Police Service once again is in the news for all the unfortunate reasons.

Again the police either will­fully, or mistakenly opened fire on five people and killed all of them accusing them of first attacking the police with gunshots.

The Police later in a statement on Saturday, June 10, 2023, said the five were suspected land guards, who engaged the police in a shootout when the police visited the area.

Reports have it that about 25 students from the Islamic Senior High School in Kuma­si were hospitalised about a year ago after police allegedly opened tear gas on them while they were protesting frequent crashes of pedestri­ans in front of the school.

Police brutalities are be­coming one too many as such go diametrically against their mandate as the nation’s secu­rity agency that legitimately seeks to provide internal security to the citizenry. In recent times, several unfortu­nate incidents have happened regarding police brutalities and killings of civilians.

Last year, two policemen were allegedly killed by col­leagues during investigations into bullion van robberies.

Following public queries as to how the two policemen, who had earlier been arrested and were in police custody as part of investigations into the recent were killed, it has been explained that they were in the company of the police and were leading police to the hideout of the suspected criminal gang.

A few years ago, one per­son was confirmed dead and five others received treat­ment after sustaining various degrees of injuries after police opened fire on them following a protest at a police station in Nkoranza in the Bono East Region.

A senior police officer was also reported to have shot a constable to death. The suspect, reportedly identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Frank Nsiah, Head of the Western North Police Intelligence Unit, was said to have shot Constable David Gbati while on their way for an assignment at Awaso in the Bibiani-Anhwi­aso Bekwai Municipality.

Some two years ago, seven suspects were also killed by the police. The police provided what they claimed to be weapons used by their victims. It was later found out that the seven were allegedly mistaken by the police for members of an eight-man armed robbery gang who had earlier attacked a sprinter bus and shot dead a police officer at Ayirebikrom near Manso Nkwanta in the Amasie West District of the region.

In the end, these allegations were found not to be cor­rect leading to a government compensation which could not amount to the lives lost.

On June 28, 2021, two people were shot and killed by the security personnel in Ejura, four others were in­jured during a demonstration which turned violent. This list goes on and on. This is unacceptable and must be the least to be said about our elite security institution.

The list of such incidents is endless and it has been extremely worrying against the backdrop of the mandate of the Ghana Police Service. The service was created by the colonial administration to primarily ensure effective law and order system in the country. The Service had legal backing through the Po­lice Service Act, of 1970 (Act 350) after independence and then buttressed in the 1992 constitution.

Among other roles, the service is to primarily prevent and detect crimes, which have been planned or are about to be committed, crimes that have been already committed and apprehended as well as prosecute offenders of the laws of the land. These in a larger view ensure the total maintenance of law and order and importantly to protect lives and property in the country.

Among other things, it was aimed at enhancing effective co-existence with the citizenry and promoting safer communities. This is a healthy move by the service in an attempt by the current Inspector General of Police to redeem its perceived lost image.

The Police in Ghana appar­ently are struggling to make a good name for themselves as numerous incidents by some of the personnel have woe­fully dragged the name of the service into disrepute.

The general perception of the Ghanaian populace about the police is not encourag­ing, to say the least. On the roads, at the charge offices and at the courts, the service is not seen as an institution that promotes friendship with citizens.

The rampant indiscriminate shooting, inhuman brutalities, intimidation and molesta­tion as well as unwarranted killings against the very people they are supposed to serve and protect have gained prominence in the media. Alleged indiscriminate brib­ery, rude and unprofessional attitude towards the citizenry, lackadaisical approach to cases reported at some police stations, and the blatant mis­use of power and resources are just but a few issues the public has against the police in Ghana.

Now the focus of the police must be on the very is­sues that have been identified as lapses in the relationship between the police and the public. As they prepare the citizenry to have confidence in the personal as well as the institution generally, the lead­ership of the police in Ghana must work hard to weed out the very bad nuts within the nation’s elite security institu­tion.

There must also be special training in customer service for the personnel as this has been a major bane of the service. The police must be friendly, nice and polite. Else­where, the police appear very neat and polite in the eyes of the general public as this is key in winning the confidence of the general public. We are also told that the service will introduce body cameras very soon. This is a very laudable move by the service which will not only help the person­nel but importantly use it as evidence of the attacks and other uncivilised actions by some of the personnel.

The Ghana Police Service is deemed as one of the best around the globe. The award­ing of the United Nations Female Police Officer of the Year to Ghana’s Chief Super­intendent Mrs Phyllis Ama Tebuah Osei at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) “for her exemplary work in the field” is a case in point.

Undoubtedly and generally, the service is on course to provide the citizens of this country the best of security but, by and large, such effort, though appreciated has not been enough.

“The Ghana Police Service as it is known has its motto as “Service with Integrity”. This must not only be rhetoric but rather a guide and motivation to truly deliver service and integrity. Personnel of the service therefore must live beyond reproach.

So ask the question, is the police helping us as citizens, are they our woes or delight?

It is about time, the police proved to be highly circum­spect in dealing with human lives. Yes, handling criminals is always dangerous but in some cases, victims have been identified as not criminals but had been killed because of suspicion. Can intelligence work here?

BY NANA SIFA TWUM (PHD)