Tema May 28, GNA-Superintendent Kwabena Otuo Acheampong, Regional Crime Officer, Tema Regional Police Command of the Ghana Police has noted that the consistent attacks on the Police Institution in recent times in the traditional and social media a national security risk.
“As an institution, we don’t condone evil, but in every home there are some few bad nuts…so when a police officer commits crime, the public and the media should not generalize the issues and attacked the Police as an institution.
“We need to focus on the individual who committed the crime, the police institution is bigger than any officer, but if we continue to attack it, we end up demoralizing the hard working personnel, we lose respect in society, the they turn to physically and psychologically abuse us,” he said.
Supt Acheampong stated during the third: “End of Month Stakeholder Engagement and Workers Appreciation Day,” seminar organized by the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office which is a platform rolled-out for state and non-state actors to address national issues.
The event also served as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters towards national development in general and growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.
Speaking on: “The state of security within the Tema Region: Role of stakeholders,” Supt. Acheampong stressed the need for building partnership between the Police and Public to effectively combat crime in society.
He said for the police to render world-class service to the nation, it would have to come out of the commitment of members of society to see themselves as part of the police institution and work with the police.
Supt. Acheampong noted that the Police would continue to render excellent service to the nation in consonance with world best practices, but “we need the public’s support, help us to protect life and property in the country, don’t wash the whole institution with one bad personnel’s dirty water”.
He said the Police Service was to secure the Ghanaian society: “Our vision is to be a-world-class service, capable of delivering planned, protective and democratic policing services up to the standard of international best practices.”
He said one indicator that pointed to the police providing an excellent service to society was whether the Public and the Police Service respected each other.
He observed that, in the US for instance, the medical, teaching and police professions were highly respected and that boosted their efforts. “But can we say same about Ghana; do the police respect the public, do the public respect the police”.
The Regional Crime Officer said the excellence of the police could also be measured in how swift they respond to distress calls from the public all things being equal which was indicative of how safe the public was in their communities.
