Wednesday, June 11, 2008

POLICING IS SHARED RESPONSIBILITY — ALHASSAN (PAGE 28)

Deputy Commi-ssioner of Police (DCOP) Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, the Commander of the Western Regional Police, has called for an end to the concept by which police officers are kept in barracks away from the communities they protect.
“The concept of personnel staying in barracks is progressively becoming outmoded and its high time we discarded the barracks idea and came closer to the people we are serving,” he said.
He said “the police organisation today is no longer a force but a service and, therefore, the end result of our services should be acceptable to the public”.
DCOP Alhassan to the press after his second tour of police stations in the Prestea, Tarkwa, Nsuaem, Half Assini and Axim districts and other communities, that the police should be visible by taking policing to the doorstep of the people.
This way, he said, the police would be on hand to quell any unrest before it escalated.
He said modern-day policing had become a shared responsibility between the public and the police, with each party contributing to better serve the society.
Mr Alhassan described the current perception of the police officer as an unfriendly person who was there only to arrest and detain as unfortunate..
He appealed to the communities to help provide accommodation for policemen to strengthen the community policing concept being promoted by the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Alhassan also urged the public not to give up hope and trust in the police, adding that the police were poised to do everything to ensure a lawful, just and friendly society.

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