The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ernest Owusu-Poku has banned the use of tear gas and rubber bullets for crowd control especially at the various stadia and sporting arenas in the country.

The directive follows the realization that some police are unaware that the use of tear gas in enclosed areas, particularly the stadia for crowd control or riots could be disastrous.

The directive was made known when the IGP appeared before the presidential commission probing the stadium disaster. This is the first step taken by the police service to ensure that personnel of the service carry out their duties more efficiently.

In the long-term, the Police Service has reviewed its training programs and will soon embark on a nationwide program to retrain personnel in modern policing. Mr. Owusu Poku announced that a committee set up to review the training programs of the service has completed its work and submitted its final report to him.

He also admitted that it is likely that some of the Commanders who head operations do not also know the procedures for crowd and riot control. Giving an insight into how the police control the crowd in riotous situations, the IGP insisted that the use of tear gas is almost always the last resort after a warning from the commander and the use of men with batons and shields has failed to bring a particular situation under control.

“Indeed before the police undertake any operation, the commander who would have been briefed about the kind of problem at hand, is expected to move in and make a quick appraisal of the situation to determine what should be done to bring the situation under control,” he told the commission.

He explained further that “under the normal procedure, the commander, after assessing the situation may with the help of a public address system depending on the thickness of the crowd, talk to them to disperse. It is only when this fails that he may order the use of the shields and batons to disperse the crowd.”

After hearing his evidence, the commission asked the IGP to furnish it with the report of the internal investigations it conducted into the role of the police in the disaster to assist the commission in its work.