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Crime & Punishment of Sunday, 10 March 2013

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Is Ghana tough enough on crime?

Every day GhanaWeb reports crime stories from across the country, many of which are gruesome and sexually motivated.

This week we covered the death of a woman set on fire by her jealous lover, the defilement of children by their relatives as well as a high-level drug bust and warnings from the UN that Ghana is under threat from illicit drug trafficking by prominent businessmen.

Chris Brown allegedly smoked marijuana live on stage in front of thousands of fans on Wednesday and left the country without any questions asked while the previous day two ‘truck-pushers’ were jailed ten years each for possessing the drug with intent to deal. But with the police reporting last week that inmates organise crimes from within the country’s jails, are long prison sentences really the solution for petty offenders?

In spite of the daily rape, theft and assault cases we publish every day Tema Police reported this week that they recorded a drop in crime cases in 2012 of over 3,645, from over 16,000 in 2011 to around 13,000 last year. Click here to read the full article However, yesterday we reported that a Dutch volunteer was shot and killed in Tema in broad daylight on Friday afternoon.

As Ghana changes and our cities grow, how safe do you feel? Do you feel as confident walking around at night as you did five or ten years ago? If you live abroad, how safe is your place of residence compared to Ghana? Tell us your views on crime in your town or city, wherever you are.