Dr. George Akuffo Dampare
The Director-General of the Ghana Police Service, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has responded to the rampant acts of criminalities which dogged Kasoa in recent times with the deployment of 250 personnel to support the existing complement of officers in the troubled area.
The action, DAILY GUIDE, has gathered is part of the efforts to eradicate land guarding by making it unattractive. This has reduced remarkably the number of robberies, murder and land guard cases which were on the rise until the swift response by a Superior Police Officer whose name has become synonymous with rapid responses to especially violent criminalities since leaving his previous desk of Paymaster at the Police headquarters.
The Kasoa Municipality adjoining Accra but part of the Central Region recently recorded the murders of a driver in its suburb Opeikuma, a house wife at Top Town Down and a hotel receptionist at Pink Fm area. The murders and their frequency evoked a media and public outcry causing undue fear and panic.
The deployment of the personnel saw the employment of increased day and night patrols in areas described as hotspots and land guard active areas.
The police have also activated a stop and search mechanisms and the reliance on intelligence as part of the strategies in managing the criminalities disturbing the peace of the municipality.
Many unregistered motorbikes, a favourite of criminals, have been seized by the Police and hideouts of suspects swooped in intelligence-driven operations.
One hundred and twenty seven suspected have so far been rounded up and exhibits in the form of narcotic drugs, arms, unregistered motorbikes, implements adapted for the commitment of crime, were retrieved.
The suspects were, DAILY GUIDE learnt, profiled, finger prints and photographs taken alongside other routine procedures during such operations. Ninety five suspects have appeared before court as ninety five have been remanded by the court.
Nineteen suspects were granted bail and twenty released following a screening exercise.
Excited residents noting the dwindling spate of criminalities especially land guarding, have called on government to provide more resources to the Police so they can continue to be on top of the game. One person said ‘the momentum must be maintained lest the criminals return with a vengeance.’
By A.R. Gomda