Neigbourhood c’ttee to support police in Tema inaugurated
A 25-Member Neighbourhood Watch Committee (NWC) was on Thursday inaugurated by the Tema Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service to complement the efforts of the police in tackling criminal activities in the municipality.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Tema Regional Commander, Commissioner of Police (COP) Daniel Afriyie, said crime had become sophisticated in recent years owing to the diversified modus operandi of criminals to hide behind technology to perpetuate their activities.
He stated, for instance that, these criminals, through their networks, gathered intelligence on innocent civilians and institutions and made them targets of their operations.
According to COP Afriyie, what then becomes challenging is the inability of the police to be everywhere at the same time, making the police mostly reactive as the criminals capitalise on the police absence to perpetuate their illicit activities.
“In line with our operational strategies to make communities safe and increase the quality of life of residents, the Police Administration has reviewed the Community Policing strategies and is calling on all communities to form NWC to complement police efforts in the fight against crime, ” COP Afriyie said.
He said the partnership would yield effective intelligence gathering for effective and efficient crime combat in the communities.
The Kpone District Commander of Police, Chief Superintendent (C/Supt) Seth Tay, said 62 volunteers submitted their names but were screened and shortlisted to 40 after background checks but only 25 could eventually stand and pass the three-month training.
Mr Tay who was also the head of a nine-member stirring committee to oversee the work of the NWC, said the volunteers were taken through lessons and training in human rights, ethics, community arrest and search, duties of first responder, interviewing skills among others.
Chief Executive of Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly, Samuel Okoe Amanquah said the NWC would contribute significantly to crime reduction in the communities given the fact that residents would feel at ease to report crime and suspicious activities to the volunteers whom they perceived as one of their own.
He urged the NWC to work closely with the police and and not see themselves to have been given any opportunity to avenge their political opponents or people whom they previously had disagreements with.
FROM KEN AFEDZI, KPONE
