Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called for an effective collaboration between civilians and the security agencies to combat crime and flush out criminal elements in the country.
He said for Ghanaians to maintain a safe and peaceful community, it was imperative to report suspicious characters and activities in the communities to the security agencies for prompt response.
“We must all be guided by the mantra: “See Something, Say Something,” Dr Bawumia added.
Vice President Bawumia gave the advice when he reviewed the parade and commissioned graduating officer cadets of the Ghana Prisons Service at the Prisons Training School in Accra.
There were 203 officer cadets, comprising 157 males and 46 females.
Dr Bawumia encouraged the public to be more conscious of suspicious activities within their communities and workplaces and charged every Ghanaian to be observant and report any unusual activities to the security agencies.
“The Ghana Prisons Service is an integral part of the security architecture of this country and also an important facilitator to criminal justice delivery,” he said.
“Therefore, the interdependence of the various components of the criminal justice system gave compelling reasons for government to equitably resource those components to function effectively,” the Vice-President stated.
Dr Bawumia said the recent recruitment of 2000 men and women into the service was part of various interventions by the government to strengthen the Service’s capacity to deliver on its mandate.
“The graduation parade is therefore a climax of six batches of new entrants from the unprecedented figure of 2000 entrants.
Vice-President Bawumia emphasised that a comprehensive programme to resource and retool the Service was tabled and, thus, working towards providing more operational vehicles and tools for inmates’ rehabilitation to actualise the objectives of the programme.
Funds were also released for the continuation and completion of the Remand Prison at Nsawam as well as the first phase of the maximum security prison at Ankaful in the Central Region.
He, thus, lauded the contributions of faith-based organisations, particularly the Church of Pentecost, which was putting up a number of prisons as well as other corporate bodies for the growth and development of the Prisons Service in recent time.
Dr Bawumia expressed joy over the major rehabilitation programmes the Service was undertaking in its quest to better equip inmates for life after prison and cited the agricultural enterprises being run by the service.
The Vice-President lauded the graduates for their efforts and believed that the expertise and skills acquired during the training would be utilised to reinforce inmate welfare and reformation.
The hall mark of security or regimented institution was discipline and professionalism and urged them to abide by those tenets in all their endeavours.
The Overall Best Graduand Senior Under Officer Desire Mawutor Klutse received the Commandant’s Sword of Honour for his hard work and dedication to duty.