ACP Reverend Friar George Arthur Blessing the holding centre
A new holding centre that will contain both male and female suspected criminals and a modern canteen has been commissioned for personnel of the Accra Regional Police Command.
The holding centre has a charge office, an office for the supervising officer, both male and female cells and a staff hall while the canteen has a 50 sitting capacity, a bar, a kitchen which serve as the cooking area, washrooms, changing over apartment and a storage room.
The outgoing Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Frederick Adu Anim, in a speech during the commissioning of the two facilities, said the idea to have a canteen for the command came to mind as soon as he assumed office as the regional commander a year ago.
He said since there was no such facility at the regional command, personnel were compelled to go outside the confines of the regional headquarters in search for food; and this consumed precious time of personnel which should have been channeled towards work.
“The canteen has become necessary, especially during this pandemic, as everyone is expected to eat good food to be able to build strong immune system to fight the virus,” he said.
For the holding centre, the regional commander maintained that the regional crime unit under the leadership of ACP Nyametse Baffour–Apenteng saw the need to solve the critical need of the command, and that was the construction of the holding centre for suspects.
“This was mainly to ensure the expeditious handling of cases under the command and let me add that the regional crime unit has never had its own detention facility. Suspects have to be transported from this headquarters to other nearby districts for detention and collection during interrogation.
He noted that the movements did not only create congestion in existing cells, but also delayed investigative processes in terms of expedient interrogation and movement of suspects to crime scenes and back among others.
The Director General in charge of Welfare, Commissioner of Police, (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah, in a statement, said it was part of her plans to ensure that every regional command had its own canteen to ensure that personnel were served a balanced diet.
She thanked individuals who supported with the construction and refurbishment of the holding centre and the canteen.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)