A cross-section of the public has commended the Ghana Police Service for the implementation of their police public engagements, as a strategy to help prevent crime in the country.
According to them, the introduction of the concept under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, last year, has promoted partnership between the police and the public.
The concept was started last year by the IGP and Members of the Police Management having series of meeting with stakeholders in the creative industry, media, transport and the banking sectors among others.
The use ofhorse patrols (troopers), motor cycles, day and use of night patrols vehicles among had been lauded for promoting police visibility and public safety in some communities.
A trader at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange,Mrs Alberta Mensah, stated this in an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday these interventions had helped stem crimes in the vicinity.
These crimes, she explained, included pick pocketing, sale of stolen items, harassment by petty criminals, and stealing of languages belonging to travelers.
Mrs Mensah, therefore, urged the police to continue with their patrols and constant police-public engagement to enhance flow of information to help in preventing crimes and arresting criminals in the communities.
“Crime prevention is a shared responsibility and all hands must be on deck to promote a safety environment for people to go about the daily duties without fear or favour,’’ she added.
A driver at Nsawam, Mr Kwame Abrefi, told this reporter that such collaboration had intensified information flow on security issues from the police, and the public and vice versa.
He said globally crimes were being recorded daily and the collaboration among the security agencies and public would help clamp down on crimes.
“As citizens we must not be spectators but involved in ensuring that the communities were safe by providing reliable and prompt information to the police,” he added.
An International Relations and Security Analyst, AlhajiIrbard Ibrahim, said the police public relation was positive for every country’s security.
He said the use of social media by the Police Administration had brought policing to the door steps of the public thereby enhancing police public relations in the country.
Alhaji Ibrahim urged the public to intensify their partnership with the police in crime prevention by willfully providing credible information to the police to help flush out criminals activities in the country to help boost security and promote the economy.
When contacted, a source at the Police Public Affairs Department (PAD) indicated that such collaboration had provided holistic security in all sphere of lives.
According to the police, such engagements had also helped the police to promote proactive policing in the communities and aided intelligence gathering.
The source stated that the service had been able to arrest and prosecute suspects as a result of prompt and credible information provided by the public.
According to the source, the concept which started from the national level spearheaded by Dr Dampare was being replicated in the regional, divisional and district commands across the country.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
