The Ghana Police Service; A Display of Puppetry

In recent happenings, the Ghana Police Service (GPS) has proven to be incompetent in the delivery of its duties. The Ghana Police Service is the major security service in Ghana that is responsible for keeping internal peace and also protecting the Ghanaian from any form of internal aggression, it’s rather unfortunate that Ghanaians just can’t seem to see the Ghana Police Service perform these duties with the professionalism it deserves without messing up in one way or the other.

Like all other security agencies, recruitments are opened for suitable candidates to join the force every year. These recruitments are open for candidates to join in various capacities such as general service, handymen, band men etc… the requirements for recruitment is also made clear to the general public for them to follow in order to recruit sane people to safeguard the lives and properties of Ghanaians.

All of these are done to maintain peace in Ghana, yet after all these, we still encounter security problems in Ghana. Ghanaians are not asking for a perfect security sector but the current state of our security force is equally unacceptable. Why should policemen unleash violence on civilians? Why should policemen stand aloof or go into hiding whiles some hoodlums or better still outlaws carry out their unconstitutional rights? These are questions that demand answers, I am hopeful the appropriate authorities will share their answers with the entire country.

The Ghana Police Service and its departments

The Ghana Police Service (GPS) like all other agencies have departments that deal with peculiar issues. The service has departments like the criminal investigations department (CID), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Domestic violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) etc… the afore mentioned departments are some of the known department of the Ghana Police Service, because they all can’t deal with all the issues at the same time, there is a need for decentralization so we can have specialized people for each department to deal with issues of their specialization.

More often than not one may think the Ghana Police Service took up these fancy names to look sophisticated. In Ghana, people make fun of the police service and this can only be brought to a halt if the Police puts their act together and starts performing its duties as they have been trained to do.

In every human organization, leadership is of vital importance, if you want to maintain sanity in that organization. “in the absence of the cat the mice play”, likewise in the absence of authority, there will be chaos. The highest office of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) is the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), all commands come from this office then it follows the necessary hierarchy till it gets to the lowest rank of the Police Service.

There is a twist to the office of the IGP, one doesn’t get there by hard work or the weight of your qualification but by appointment. This appointment is done by none other than the president of the republic according to the 1992 constitution, and he (the president) can also dismiss him at any time on the grounds of misconduct.

The Ghana Police Council

• In Ghana, the government is neutral, they all belong to a side. No incumbent will put a member of the opposition into a place of authority. The Ghana Police service also has a council which governs the affairs of the service. This council is made up of a chairman, the minister of interior, the IGP, the Attorney General, a lawyer, a representative of the retired police officers association, two members of the Ghana Police Service and other two members.

• GUESS WHAT! Apart from the lawyer who is chosen by the Ghana Bar Association, senior officer by the association, the rest are all appointed by the president so to say that the majority of that council is the president. The police council is the governing body of the police service and it’s their duty to advice the president on matters relating to internal security.

• They only need to advise him because he takes all the decisions. A popular Akan adage states “you don’t bite the hands that feed you”, this is to say that since he (the president) appointed the council they are obliged to whatever he says to be best security idea. And the last time I checked currently all our presidents are civilians so why do we leave our security in the hands of sentimental civilians, the 1992 constitution which backs the president in choosing the council was actually prepared in the era of a military president so back then it was laudable but now Ghanaians we call for a review of the constitution.

The security service must be independent from any political influence, if not so their performance as far as their duties is concerned will be biased. Let’s all fight for a review of the 1992 constitution.

Newsghana24 published related news in which the Ghana Police Officers cashing in on Accra-Ho drivers with impunity

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