Kumadoe Richard
A security and fraud management analyst, Richard Kumadoe, has said the recent security and public safety challenges in the country are not beyond the Police Administration and other security agencies.
Of late, there have been spates of robberies in many parts of the country and the attack on the Kwabenya Police Station, which led to the killing of a top police officer has become the talk of the town.
However, Mr. Kumadoe told DAILY GUIDE that the police can handle the problem professionally without any excesses to allay the fears of the public.
“The alarming rate of seemingly security issues in Ghana in recent months is causing a bit of a worry. The open display of bravado of some individuals with dangerous weapons coupled with rampant killings of civilians and security personnel has the propensity to heighten fear, uncertainty and safety concerns across the country but I know this cannot be beyond the security agencies.”
He said that “public agitation and the security threats we all hear about today aren’t new in Ghana, and they also aren’t going away anytime soon if the appropriate measures and responses are not put in place by those charged with the responsibility of protecting, ensuring the maintenance of public order, internal security and safety of the citizenry.
He also said that criminals have existed for many years, and so too have our security agencies but what has not changed is the inability on the part of the security agencies to respond and mitigate the risks they pose to us,” and added “the security agencies should change the tactics used to enable them defend the citizenry against the increasingly complex security threats in modern times.”
According to Mr. Kumadoe, fighting crime has become sophisticated and expensive and the police cannot continue to operate effectively if they don’t have the right equipment and personnel motivation.
“Given how expensive and scarce security resources are, some best strategies for successful security operations by security personnel is that they should be concerned with things that require immediate attention, such as identifying and monitoring threats, alert handling and incident response, in order to curb any possible incidents of security breaches.”
He said the issue of professional training of personnel and the adoption of modern technology should be considered as “very essential methods in fighting crime and to ensure security personnel are keeping up with pace, one step ahead of criminals.”
He said the swiftness with which the police administration was able to apprehend some of the suspects involved in the Kwabenya Police Station attacks, shows that the police are capable of handling any critical situation in the country.
By William Yaw Owusu