David Asante-Apeatu, IGP Middle, COP Dr George Akuffu Dampare, DG in charge of operations, COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, DG Special Duties, COP Rose Bio Atinga and other senior police officers together with participants.
A strategic communication training workshop has been held for all Public Relations Officers (PROs) of the Ghana Police Service.
The four-day workshop is aimed at equipping the PROs of the service at national, regional and unit levels with cutting-edge modern communication skills in line with international best practices.
It is also to boost the morale of the PROs in the area of public speaking, writing skills, reputation management and crises communication skills and policing.
The Inspector-General of Police, David Asante Apeatu, in his opening remarks, said building the capacity of personnel of the public affairs department is one of the key deliverables of the transformation agenda.
The police administration is of the view that effective communication is a means to reach out to the public and also get the view of the public to the attention of the leadership of the service,” he said.
“The directorate serves as the interface between the service and the general public as a result the personnel must strictly adhere to high standard of professionalism in all its endeavors.”
He added that technology has brought a revolution in information dissemination.
“There are many sources of information today than before and this in itself has created a forum for misinformation, slandering and character assassination.”
He said the Ghana Police Service has been affected by global changes and cannot remain static.
“As a result, the service under my leadership is pursuing a robust transformation aimed at actualizing the vision of the service that is to be a world class police service capable of delivering planned, democratic, protective and peaceful services up to the standard of international best practices.
“At the end of this workshop, it is the expectation of the administration that participants would come out with strategies and recommendations to rebrand the service to make it a service with true integrity.”
The Director General in-charge of the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu, said the 20 participants were drawn from headquarters and the regions and would be taken through practical strategic communication skills including field exercises, teamwork, public speaking, planning, peer–to–peer learning, multimedia communication techniques, as well as reputation management as part of the police administration’s vision to transform the Ghana Police Service into a world-class service.
ACP Eklu said the participants would also be trained to be effective change agents through effective strategic communication techniques.
Resource persons for the workshop included Nana Yaa Ofori Atta, Nanabayin Pratt and Major Rtd Don Chebe.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey