IGP expresses disappointment at CID Unit of Ghana Police
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye has expressed disappointment at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit of the Ghana Police saying the prestige associated with the title ‘detective’ has become a thing of the past.
He explained that investigators have ceased to be meticulous, tenacious and probing, leading to too many unresolved cases some of which had been pending for several years stressing that in 2011, out of a total 221,107 cases reported to the police nationwide, 176,295 cases representing 76% were still under investigation.
The IGP equally expressed worry about the prolonged detentions in the police cells and attributed it to negligence, which he said was unacceptable saying, “detention of suspects must not be made a routine practice but should be considered as the last resort after all alternatives have been exhausted’.
Mr. Quaye was addressing the Northern Regional Police Command in Tamale on Monday, during a familiarization visit, which also enabled him to interact and share his administrative policies with the police personnel in the area.
The visit, which is the first of its kind in the region by the IGP, had earlier in the day seen him paying a courtesy call on the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr San Nasaamu Asabigi, as the Regional Minister is in Accra attending to other official functions.
The IGP is due to visit the Upper West Region on Tuesday and the Upper East on Wednesday, where he will interact with the officers there.
Mr Quaye reminded all personnel, especially the District and Unit Commanders, Station Officers and Investigators that, anyone found culpable for unjustified detention of suspects and accused persons would be severely sanctioned since it violates the human rights of the suspects and urged them to grant them bail in minor offences.
He said the Northern Region was unique in policing, due to the series of chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts, noting that, such conflicts demanded excessive commitments of the meager resources in the form of personnel and logistics but those resources, he said, had been overstretched.
The IGP also expressed worry about the long distance between the Northern Regional capital and most of the districts, saying that, some districts such as Bole and Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo are about 150 kilometers away, a situation that places extreme constraints on logistics.
Touching on the five year strategic plan of the police, he said it would enhance maintenance of law and order, installation of effective investigation mechanisms for crime detection and prevention, development of reliable and comprehensive database to strengthen the investigative and prosecution unit of the police and among others.
Mr Quaye said the administration was feverishly implementing human resource improvement strategies that will go a long way to building the capacities of the personnel at all levels, while the image cleansing would be enforced to build public confidence in the police.
The Northern Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) George Tuffuor, said the region’s police- civilian ratio of 1:3,700, undermines effective policing in the region, especially as the region is perceived to be volatile.
He said the region had only five reliable vehicles, which were being used in Tamale, Buipe and Bole for patrol duties and appealed to the IGP to send enough vehicles and personnel to the area to ensure the full maintenance of law and order.
DCOP Tuffour observed that most social activities of the region was intertwined with chieftaincy and politics, which bring in its trail conflicts and mentioned the Bimbilla and Buipe conflicts that has been lingering in the region.
Source: GNA