President Akufo-Addo has encouraged the citizenry to support the Police with resources and logistics to improve effectiveness in their operations.
“Security is a collective responsibility, and each citizen has a role to play. Let us support the Police with resources to help Government achieve its vision of making the country a safe haven for all,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said this on Tuesday at the inauguration and handing over the ceremony of a two-story Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) Headquarters to the Police Administration in Accra.
The building, worth almost ¢4 million was donated by the TOBINCO Group of Companies. In a speech read on his behalf by Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, the President said for the Police to become a world-class institution, they needed to discharge their duties in a professional and ethical manner with the support of the citizens.
He said that would also require that internal measures were put in place to check Police personnel in their day-to-day activities.
The President noted that under Dr George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Administration had redefined strategies to make the PPSB more proactive in ensuring professional standards within the Service and prevent instances of unprofessionalism.
He said some of the strategies he was privy to, included the setting up of regional PPSBs across all the 18 Police Regions to bring the Bureau to the doorstep of all and commended the Administration.
The President said the Police was also about setting up a complaint reporting hotline for people who felt aggrieved during any engagement with the Police to call and seek redress in real-time.
He said the Police would also establish a police body-worn cameras monitoring center to provide 24-hour monitoring of personnel who would be required to wear the cameras during their duty.
“Moving forward, we are working towards acquiring about 20,000 body cameras to be able to monitor the activities of our Police. This would solve the issue of who did what and make police more accountable.
“Also there would be the activation of a WhatsApp number for members of the public to send video footages of Police conducts, both good and bad for investigation and or commendation as the case may be,” he said.
The President lauded TOBINCO Group for the gesture, adding that, it demonstrated the Company’s goodwill and contribution towards Ghana’s development.
The IGP said though government was doing its best to retool the Police, they were open to more support from the public.
He noted that though security was the most important factor in the socio-economic development of every nation, security issues had unfortunately been relegated to the background and called for a change of attitude.
The IGP assured the public that the Police would intensify its professional standards to win back the love and trust of citizens.
Elder Nana Amo Tobin I, Executive Chairman, TOBINCO Group, said the donation was part of the Company’s efforts to give back to support society.
He said it was also a means of acknowledging God’s goodness upon the firm and showing appreciation to Ghanaians for their continuous patronage of TOBINCO products.
The Executive Chairman commended the IGP for the transformation he had brought to the Police Service.