The race to become the Inspector General of Police (IGP) must not be seen as a do-or-die affair for relevant candidates, the immediate past IGP, Mr David Asante-Apeatu, has said.
He said jostling for the highest position in the Ghana Police Service could come with the application of all means possible to outmaneuvre one another, noting that it would not hold good for the working relationship established among the senior officers over the years and by extension the image of the service.
Addressing congregants of the St George Catholic Church at the Police Training School in Accra at a farewell and thanksgiving service held in his honour on Sunday (August 18, 2019), Mr Asante-Apeatu stressed: “Do not strive to achieve this aim at all cost at the expense of the decades of friendship that you have built, for what is written is written and it shall come to pass.”
Appreciation
While expressing his appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for appointing him to serve as IGP, he also thanked all who worked with him during his tenure at the helm.
The former IGP said looking at the calibre of senior police officers, “I can say the President has the finest array of people to choose from to become the IGP.”
He added: “I can see many of you becoming IGPs while I am alive.”
Integrity, Mr Asante-Apeatu pointed out, was about doing the right thing when no one was watching.
Bad ones
The former IGP admitted that there were a few bad lots in the service who consistently tarnished the good name of the Ghana Police Service.
He urged police personnel to build their communication skills and enhance their communication with the public.
“Reorienting your interpersonal communication skills is essential to how we are perceived as a world-class police. Research has proven that effective communication with the citizens has become more important than the number of arrest made in a period or our screaming sirens on the streets,” he said.
He pointed out that people were watching the police and so they must endeavour to live up to expectation, no matter where they found themselves
Credibility
Mr Asante-Apeatu said all that the Ghana Police Service had was its credibility.
“Our credibility is all we have. If you mess up, it affects every single one of us, and the people insult all of us together when they should be praising all of us instead,” he said.
Citing the incident of Corporal Agatha Nana Nabin, a police woman who was shot on duty at a checkpoint on the Tamale -Kumbungu road on
July 30 , 2019 by some occupants of a vehicle she had stopped to inspect that night, Mr Asante-Apeatu noted that police personnel risked their lives to protect the citizenry and such “martyrs” must be honoured.
Achievements
He mentioned some of his achievements as the successful investigation of serial murders, establishment of a crime scene management unit for the service and the re-introduction of the marine police.
Mr Asante-Apeatu, donning a cream suit, was presented with a citation after which the clergy prayed for him and his family.
Homily
In a homily, the Chaplain General of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police Very Reverend George Arthur, urged the former IGP to use the early days of his retirement period to reflect on his achievements and failures by taking a retrospective view of his career in the police service and his leadership as the IGP.
He urged Mr Asante-Apeatu to reconcile with those he inadvertently offended in the service and outside the service.
“This world is a cycle. You will surely meet or encounter them somewhere. You may even need their service or support in future. No human being is an island,” he said.
He urged office holders to use their positions to reconcile, unite, restore peace and build the society.
Source: Graphic.com