The Ghana Police Service database is being linked to the National Identification Authority (NIA) to deepen their ability to combat crime in the country, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
The move is especially envisaged to aid the Criminal Investigation Department and other departments of the service undertake speedy investigations.
Dr. Bawumia entreated every well-meaning Ghanaian to support efforts of the police and government to sustain the gains made in ensuring a safe, peaceful and secure country.
Community partnerships with the police, passing on relevant information about crime and criminal activities among others, he said, can help to save lives and aid security provisions.
To this end, the Vice President – who was speaking at the 51st Cadet Officers graduation of the Ghana Police Academy, also urged police officers to be proactive, accountable and law-abiding citizens for others to emulate.
Furthermore, he called on the police administration to take advantage of the ongoing government digitisation and digitalisation agenda to strengthen the police transformation project to meet contemporary policing priorities; and also improve law enforcement service delivery and transnational collaborations for the full benefit of the country and its neighbours.
He said: “With each passing day the frontiers of crime witness shifts, especially in the nature and complexity of crime; with cybercrime and related attacks rapidly becoming a global concern. Therefore, no police organisation can fully meet its vision without the empowering tools of digitisation”.
The Vice President observed that the innovative approaches in policing communities through enhanced community and stakeholder engagements, improved police visibility and intensive patrols, among others, have greatly increased the sense of safety and security across the country.
Government, he assured, will continue to provide police with the infrastructure, resources and motivation necessary to effectively maintain law and order in line with its constitutional mandate.
“It is in light of this commitment that additional infrastructure such as lecture/syndicate rooms, ultra-modern auditoriums and residential accommodation are being put up at the academy to contain the increasing number of officers admitted to the academy.
“Within the year, government even in the face of budgetary constraints recently procured over 2,000 motorbikes for the police to strengthen their ongoing crime prevention/visibility operational initiatives within the framework of promoting democratic policing in the country,” he said.
As a result of this intervention, he reckons that communities which hitherto were not easily accessible can have their share of police presence due to the better manoeuvrability capabilities of these motorbikes.
Dr. Bawumia announced that some 3,000 more will be provided to the police in addition to about 200 pick-up vehicles to be used by Regional Formed Police Units (FPUs).
In all, about 308 officers were commissioned into the ranks of Deputy Superintendent of Police and Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The officers were taken through the revamped training model, based on a significant practical outlook with limited theoretical content.
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