The daylight robbery at Caprice in Accra last Friday was one of the unusual criminalities to visit the nation’s capital in recent times.
The city has been devoid of such daredevil acts of late thanks to the heightened police visibility at traffic intersections.
For those who heard about the daylight operation by the motorcycle riding hoodlums they could not resist wondering whether the criminals were staging a comeback after a long lull.
They dare not because the law enforcement agents are primed to deal with them pound for pound.
The victim, a foreigner, we have heard, lost two fingers. Thank God she is live but for which the mood of the city would have been different.
We sympathise with the victim of the robbery and pray that citizens would cooperate with the police in their search for the criminals who reportedly made away with a bag containing unspecified amount of money possession of the victim.
It would be important to know whether or not the criminals trailed the woman from a bank. Although the police are doing their own investigations, it is possible that the lady withdrew money from a bank and was trailed after an insider alerted them.
The bystanders who provided support to the injured lady and took her to a nearby health facility for treatment deserve commendation.
As we have always pointed out, security is a shared responsibility. When especially, incidents like the one under review take place, there is the need for all to support the police in tracking the criminals down.
There is no doubt that some people might have witnessed the movement of the criminals whom we have been told, were riding motorcycles. The pieces of information which for the ordinary person might be useless, could prove important to the detectives who as professionals, can put these together to arrive at a helpful clue.
No information is therefore, too small for the detectives. The make of the motorbike, registration if it was registered and other telltale traits such as accents of the criminals, should not be ignored.
Criminals do not live in the bush, they are part of our communities, their movements known by some persons within such places.
When such criminals make a big catch as they did last Friday, observers can sometimes pick signs of such escapades on the part of the criminals. These they should share with law enforcement agents who can join these together for a breakthrough.
We salute the Police for their swift press release on the subject. Such responses serve as important assurances for the public especially, those who witness such traumatising spectacles.
The criminals succeeded in fleeing the crime scene but they cannot be in hiding indefinitely especially, with the cooperation with the public.