Dr. George Akuffo-Dampare
A brand new Chief Constable is in place, his appointment having been confirmed by the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The newly confirmed IGP received an enviable testimonial from the President who as it were watched his performance since he bestowed upon him the task of heading the Police in an acting capacity a couple of months ago.
Public opinion about Dr. Dampare and the President’s own observation informed the bill of good performance he gave the new IGP.
Information available suggests that President Akufo-Addo demands nothing but genuine policing in consonance with good practices from the new IGP.
With such a strict order to the head of the law enforcement department coupled with a clean bill of performance he attracted, Dr. Dampare cannot afford not to succeed.
The new police chief’s promise of a new direction in policing with the support of his colleagues on the Police Management Board and of course the Senior Officers, the Inspectorate and Other Ranks in the Service is heartwarming.
He told the President exactly what Ghanaians expect of their police chief. Changing the image of the police to become a respectable institution in the country as he promised further will be a lasting legacy for the law enforcement department of the state and for posterity.
Dr. Dampare has assumed the headship of the Police at a critical moment in the life of the country. Criminality has assumed a more sophisticated dimension and criminals have become more daring.
Daylight robbery has been experienced in Accra, Tema and Kumasi. Although the criminals are now on the back foot as new strategies rolled out by the Police Administration are beginning to show dividends, more need to be done to deny the criminals the oxygen with which to operate.
The combat units established at the Police Headquarters to counter the robbers is a good strategy for which the IGP and the Police Administration deserve kudos.
We are excited that the new IGP has announced working to maintain cordial relationship between the Police and the public. This is critical in the anti-crime war.
It is ironic that the public are generally distanced from the police when the contrary should have been the case. The unfriendly nature of some police officers and the general mistrust the public have for the police is a deficiency which the IGP should work upon.
Aggrieved persons should have easy access to district and even divisional commanders with their reports about bad police officers. The unit responsible for receiving complaints from the public should be enhanced to do more than it is doing currently. Reports received should be treated with alacrity lest complainants lose confidence in the process.
The colonial day brusque approach to policing has remained with us for far too long. In a modern setting, the archaic method of policing should have long given way to the best practices approach.
The recent inroads made by the police in some seeming crime conundrums have been attributed to the cooperation of the public through the provision of information, the backbone of intelligence.
There are many more Ghanaians who are reluctant assisting the Police because of the belligerent attitude of some police officers.
When this attitude is not changed and the public cocoon themselves up, the law enforcement operatives will be starved of information they need to be on top of the crime war.
We wish the new IGP Godspeed.