David Asante Apeatu, DCOP Mrs Tiwaa Addo Danquah, members of Police Management Board, resource persons in a group photograph with some of the crime officers
The police administration has initiated steps to completely digitize its Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in the country.
The new initiative is to allow investigators to electronically take complaints, write statements and verify fingerprints on CID forms.
About 26 personnel from police stations in Accra and the CID Headquarters and Tema have started using electronics to carry out their operations under a pilot project.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department, DCOP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, said the move will help senior officers, including the Inspector-General of Police, to access complaints and dockets.
They can monitor how cases are being investigated and also give directives electronically, she added.
She said the training has already been conducted for personnel from the 26 police stations and the CID headquarters earmarked for the pilot project.
This was revealed at the opening ceremony of a workshop organized for crime officers drawn from all regions of the country to be trained on new techniques.
The workshop, the first of its kind in the year, is to ensure that the crime officers are equipped with the relevant skills in modern investigative techniques to enable them perform their investigative functions in line with the vision of the service to become world-class.
DCOP Addo-Danquah said the decision to organize the workshop was mooted after a recent assessment of the performance of investigators.
“We cannot continue to operate the same way in this era where the whole nation is involved in the ceaseless fight against cybercrime, robbery, illegal mining, vigilantism, and gas and fuel explosions among others.”
She stressed the need for crime officers to address the challenges that come with the introduction of technology in crime investigations, which will soon be rolled out in the country.
“Investigations form an integral part in assisting the state in prosecuting accused persons charged with offences, and it is for this reason and other related ones that the CID and the police administration conduct regular needs assessment to identify gaps in the provision of quality, effective and efficient services to the good people of this great nation.”
The Inspector-General of Police, David Asante Apeatu, who officially opened the workshop, in an address, said revamping the CID is critical in the fight against crime.
“The need for inter departmental, inter agency and international collaboration to fight crime and injustice anywhere in the world cannot be over emphasized.
He therefore challenged the crime officers to religiously stay abreast with all provisions in the service.
“This reference provides you with the best benchmarks in handling persons in custody and all the rights due them.
He threatened to crack the whip if any crime officer disregards these provisions, adding that it would be unpardonable.
The IGP said, “We must step up our game to prioritize crime prevention and equally complement it with crime detection.
In this regard, my administration is prioritizing the professionalization of the Intelligence Unit to provide the essential services expected of it.”
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey