Ambrose Dery
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has announced government’s intention to recruit 8,000 fresh police officers to boost security and help deal with poor police-population ratio as part of its commitment in investing peace and security.
According to him, increased resources and logistical support would be given to the police service to function more effectively and efficiently to prevent crime and disorder in the country.
The minister made this revelation when he addressed service commanders and other senior officers of the Ghana Police Service at a National Police Command Conference in Kumasi yesterday.
He stated that government, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo considers peace and security as national issues, and is therefore prepared to collaborate with all stakeholders to achieve the existence of and believe in peace and security in Ghana.
Mr Dery disclosed that the president is committed to getting Ghanaians out of the fear syndrome into a mindset of peace, security and personal safety, intimating that it is trite that a peaceful, conflict-free and safe macro-environment is a prerequisite to a successful and sustainable development agenda.
He mentioned that even though available statistics suggest that the police service and other security agencies have made the country a safer place, fewer cases of murder and robbery in the first six months of 2017 comparatively to preceding years, the fact still remains that Ghanaians do not feel safe.
Mr Dery was hopeful the police’s transformation agenda, which includes increased police-civilian interaction, would ultimately bridge the gap between perception and reality.
The Interior minister also called on the police administration to get ready to work in collaboration with civil society, security experts and state institutions such as the National Peace Council in a bid to achieve sustainable peace, safety and development in the country.
Motivation
He acknowledged the important role motivation of officers plays in the maintenance of peace and security and revealed that the Police Council had been approved by the Council of State and would soon be inaugurated to deal with the backlog of administrative and welfare issues, including promotions.
According to the minister, serving six or seven years in one rank cannot motivate officers to give off their best and contribute effectively to the intended transformation.
He asserted that he had asked the police administration to re-prioritise the services’ five key themes of the transformation agenda for welfare to be the number one.
“A management team that understands and manages the risk police officers are exposed to at tactical and operational levels of the command chain shall bring the best out of them,” he posited.
The minister said there was the need to recognise and compensate dependants of the officers who die in the line of duty.
He, however, encouraged the police to work hard in order to change the negative perception of corruption that seems to hang on the service.
“I believe that the sceptics of the service are in minority. Be that as it may, it is important to note that the leadership of the police service has submitted an anti-corruption strategy to the Ministry of Interior,” Mr Dery pointed out.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi