When the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander told the media early this week that ten suspected armed robbers have been arrested, it was relieving both to victims of the recent attacks and those living in fear about the seeming invincibility of the criminals.
Even more exciting was the arrest of those suspected to have had a hand in the shooting of a forex bureau operator as he was returning home after a day’s work.
The October operation towards dusk on the busy Kanda Highway in Accra was shocking because of its daredevil nature in the full glare of onlookers. Although the victim survived the attack and currently undergoing physiotherapy sessions, the action was a wakeup call to both law enforcement agents and residents alike.
To the law enforcement agents as we commented earlier, they must change their rules of engagements considering the novelties at the disposal of criminals, especially in Accra. Weapons are no longer in short supply as armed robbers have access to both licensed and unlicensed firearms, simple pump-action and AK 47s or even G3s, in spite of the efforts of security agents to reverse the situation.
The emerging preference for the use of motorbikes in the committal of crimes as was evident in the Kanda shooting incident is scary. The ability of the criminals to meander through traffic logjams is an unwelcome novelty to city dwellers and security agents.
We wish to congratulate the Greater Accra Regional Police Command for its feat because law enforcement agents hardly get such plaudits.
While we do not doubt the ability of our detectives to seek the appropriate intelligence from the suspects, we would nonetheless suggest that victims of the forex bureau robberies in the past few months ? especially in the Zongo Lane part of Accra Central? be located and for important leads.
The Kanda shooters appear to have specialized on forex bureau operators and when professionally handled can definitely release valuable intelligence which can break the back of other criminal networks.
We acknowledge admiringly how detectives were able to use intelligence garnered from the first arrest to round up the others.
Information reaching us suggest that one of the suspects is a known person to forex bureau operators in Tudu; these persons when contacted can be of use to the police.
In such matters, no information is too small. The public should support the police to round up criminals with valuable information. It is gratifying that so many suspected criminals were rounded in this latest breakthrough.
We expect the cops to do a thorough job so the suspects will not exploit weak links in court to return to the streets.
With extra efforts from the police and support from the public, criminality can be reduced to the barest minimum.