Private Corporate Sponsorship Of The Ghana Police Service (Part 2)

PRIVATE CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OF THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE – IMPLICATIONS AND ETHICAL ISSUES (Part 2)

Kwabena Fosu-Mensah concludes his article with the implications and the ethical dimension of private sponsorship of the police service and suggests the way forward for handling the issue including the establishment of a sponsorship foundation to oversee private sponsorship.



The crucial question is: can the police accept private corporate donations and sponsorship without compromising their position?
There are several implications for the police invitation or acceptance of private corporate sponsorship. These include the following lines of perception or accusation:
• that the donations or support could compromise the police force's position
• that officers or the police force can effectively be hired or bought for cash by the highest bidder
• that victims of crime or tort simply would not get police support without reaching for their cheque books
• that the practice could also lead to two-tier policing where only those with deep pockets get protection from crime.
• that although the law applies to all citizens equally, this practice smacks of one rule for the rich, and another rule for the poor
• the public may wonder whether the police is doing what they are paid to do by outside agencies, or what the public expects them to do
• this practice, if not controlled, could lead to money laundering as proceeds from crime could be used to support the police force from the blind side of the force.
These lines of perception and accusation are premised on several factors. For example, some private organisations who give money or support to the police only do so because they want to buy influence or favour. It is not inconceivable also that some donors would expect preferential treatment from police officers.
It is also most likely that when the police force face conflict of interests situations they may be perceived as favouring such private donors either when their actions or inactions conflict with the law or they are in dispute with a third party.
It can be speculated that a financial relationship with the corporate sector creates potential conflicts of interest and may distort public policy and community agendas for the police by influencing the direction the police take and what areas of emphasis the police will focus on.
By actively soliciting funds from the private corporate sector, the police force runs the very real risk of allowing governments to gradually withdraw or reduce funding support from many areas and activities that were previously regarded as core policing functions. That could also be an indirect and a first step toward the privatisation of the police service – a dangerous option.
The police service continue to accept corporate funding while not fully recognising the need for strong ethical stewardship and the implementation of strict controls on how companies contribute funds.
In this era of accusations of corruption and financial scandals, the community needs a clean and transparent police force now more than ever. According to the recent survey published by the Integrity Initiative, the Police Authority is perceived as the most corrupt public institution in Ghana. Whether true or not, the Authority therefore owe a duty to the public to be open and transparent about private corporate sponsorships which they receive.
The absence or an all-out withdrawal of corporate sponsorship is not being recommended. It is the way the police solicit and accept corporate funding that must be reviewed as a matter of urgency preferably by an independent committee and appropriate recommendations made for receiving, overseeing, monitoring and controlling sponsorships and partnerships.
One school of thought postulate that the use of a Sponsorship Foundation has the advantage of striking a balance that would enable corporate sponsors to contribute to the police while maintaining a distance between the police and the sponsor. The experience of some jurisdictions indicates that where there is a Foundation there is no direct connection between the benefactor and the beneficiary. Police project managers will bid for support directly from the Foundation.
A Sponsorship Foundation Board to oversee the entire sponsorship would comprise of key stakeholders including experts and civil society organisations with a senior police advisor with no voting rights. The Board who would have control over how the funds are applied would need to consult with the sponsor regarding the application of the funds to ensure there is no conflict between the donor company’s values and the use of the funds.
As a registered society, the Sponsorship Foundation Board would also be able to issue tax receipts for the donations they receive from corporations. The Foundation would also be required to publically disclose acceptance of sponsorship for non-core police activities only and the allocation of funds to specific projects on an annual basis.
Donations and sponsorships over and above a certain threshold must be referred to the Board for consideration and approval subject to strict prohibition of making any of the statutory police functions dependent on this funding and any companies interfering with the duties of the police.
Conclusion
Policing sponsorship is a complex issue and has the very real potential to impugn the integrity of policing if not well handled.
According to John Middleton-Hope, a retired Chief of Police and Member of Advisory Board for the Institute for Law Enforcement’s Centre for Ethics in Texas (USA), if sponsorship is not managed with a desire to do “the right thing” as opposed to the “expedient thing,” policing runs the risk of alienating the public whose trust and respect remain essential ingredients in the relationship between the police and those they serve.
The time has come for a through public debate and a careful stocktaking of the police service soliciting and accepting funding from the private corporate sector. It is the turn of the Ministry of Interior to take the lead in encouraging stakeholders to contribute to the debate as part of the ethical governance regime of the police service.

The author is an ethical governance expert