Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Robert Ayalingo, Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, has called on police personnel to ensure they went about their duties according to the rule of law.

He said Ghana had chosen a political path of democratic dispensation hence the hostility and brutality that characterized the enforcement of law during the colonial era would not be tolerated.

DCOP Ayalingo was addressing the opening of a one day sensitization workshop in Sunyani for community policing desk officers in the various district commands in Brong Ahafo.

He said the task of the police had “become bigger now that we are in an election year and persons with criminal intent want to take advantage and commit crimes”.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone goes about his/her activities without hindrance”, the Regional Commander said, saying the workshop was to enable the participants gain more leadership skills in combating crime in the communities.

DCOP expressed regret that police-public ratio of one policeman to 1,200 persons was woefully inadequate “and this makes our work very, very difficult” but cautioned the situation did not offer any policeman the license to act unlawfully.

He advised the participants to on their return to their stations ensure regular contact with the regional and national commands so that the knowledge they had acquired would be adequately applied.

Chief Superintendent Alhaji Mohammed Fuseini Suraji, Director of Community Policing unit at the Police headquarters, noted that the service had been under enormous pressure to counter the rising tide of organised crimes which included armed and highway robberies, traffic indiscipline and carnage, cyber crimes (sakawa), drug trafficking and human trafficking, occultism.

“Yet the 1992 Constitution of Ghana expects the Ghana Police Service to operate in accordance with national and international laws and respect for human rights at all times”, he said.

Chief Supt Suraji said in response to the Ghana Police Service’s five year strategic National Policing Plan 2010-2014 vision of providing “citizen focused policing that meets the expectation of all communities”, the community policing unit organised the first ever conference in Accra in August 2011.

He said the conference offered the participants, who included key stakeholders, the platform to contribute their views and ideas that would engender better policing between Police and community members.

“The platform also enabled stakeholders to appreciate that indeed security is a collective and shared responsibility between the police and the community”, he said, noting this culminated in support and pledges of bicycles, plasma television sets, laptops and cash for the police.

Chief Supt Suraji said the success of the Accra conference informed the Police Administration on the need for the Community Policing Unit to expand its operations to other regions.

He reminded the participants that they were going to be the conduit pipe through which sensitization on crime prevention and promotion of safer neighbourhoods would flow from the district command to communities, as well as intelligence gathered from communities to the district command for action.

The participants would be taken through topics including the concept and application of community policing, communication skills and public engagement and identification and involvement of police key stakeholders in the promotion of safer neighbourhoods.**