Stop Giving Us Bribes - Police

Police personnel at a public forum in Accra on Friday appealed to the public to desist from giving money to the Police to stamp out corruption in the Police Service.

"This is because both the giver and the taker are equally guilty of bribery and corruption as offers are often meant to buy justice and favours," they stressed. This was at a forum organised by the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) for Police personnel, as part of the second National Constitution Week on the theme: "The Constitution, Cultural Values and Good Governance."

Speaking on: Promoting discipline and the Rule of Law in the Ghanaian Society, Mr Stevens Ahiawordor, a lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, said acts of indiscipline in the Police service upset fairness and justice.

"In a society where the Police can make justice a commodity for sale, you can be sure that there cannot be in practice any form of rule of law."

He said poor conditions of service; lack of logistics; defective training, recruitment based on favouritism and cronyism were the drawbacks in the service.

He said the burden of ensuring discipline and the rule of law in Ghanaian society is a shared one, "This is because the prevalence of indiscipline in the Ghanaian society today cannot be laid at the doorsteps of only one person, institution or organisation."

Mr Ahiawordor said, "it is the duty of the state to create that enabling environment for the Police Service to enable it to perform. The state for instance must ensure better service conditions".

The state must also ensure that courts dispose of cases expeditiously without frustrating arresting or prosecuting officials.

"The tendency where judicial officers make derogatory remarks about police personnel in the open court or release suspects for apparently no reason should be discouraged."

Within the Service, he called for firm sanctions against Police personnel, who misconduct themselves and said promotions should be done according to laid down procedures.

Mr Ahiawordor urged the public to desist from taking the law into their own hands. "They should be able to apprehend and hand over suspects to the Police without meting out instant justice to them. This because the suspect might be innocent while on the other hand vital incriminating evidence might be destroyed."