The inspector general of police has tasked police district commanders to develop security and crime prevention plans with stakeholders to enhance effective policing in their jurisdiction.
This was contained in a speech read on his behalf at the media launch of an enhanced police visibility and community policing strategy in Accra.
Several police-community initiatives have been adopted in various communities to complement traditional policing methods.
The community policing concept and police visibility have greatly improved crime-fighting efforts in the country.
To further enrich the concept and make it more effective, it has become necessary to increase police visibility in areas where the fear of crime still exists and where crime and anti-social behaviour affect the daily lives of the people.
The enhanced strategy integrates the critical elements of community crime fighting and elimination of fear of crime.
The launching of this strategy comes at a time when the police administration is making efforts to transform the police, make communities safer and help increase the quality of lives of residents.
The igp re-emphasised the need for community partnership since security is a shared responsibility between the police and the public.
The handbook to guide the strategy was distributed to all policing units across the country
FULL SPEECH
It is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you to the Police Headquarters this morning to witness the official launching of an Enhanced Visibility and Community Policing Strategy for the Ghana Police Service.
The launching of this Strategy comes at a time when the Police Administration is making efforts to transform the Police, make communities safer and help increase the quality of lives of residents.
The Strategy integrates critical elements of Community Crime Fighting and removal of the Fear of Crime Initiative, the implementation I am currently leading.
Our Partners from the Media, In the past decade, the Community Policing concept has significantly contributed to crime-fighting efforts in the country.
Several police-community initiatives were adopted in various communities to complement traditional policing methods.
To further enrich the Concept and make it more effective, it has become necessary to increase police visibility in zones where the fear of crime still exists and where crime and antisocial behaviour affect the daily lives of members of the public.
Building on past community policing experiences in Ghana and best practices, this enhanced strategy emphasises the need for Police to collaborate with the public to identify, prioritise and address their concerns.
The approach stresses the need for improved police visibility in neighbourhoods.
To achieve this, Community Policing Teams will be set up for day and night patrols of smaller defined areas within a police district known as “Zones”.
These Community Policing Teams will develop quality relations and rapport with residents and build trust in communities.
The strategy also emphasises crime prevention campaigns in partnership with communities to support the new enhanced visibility patrol concept through Neighbourhood Watch Committees, Residents Associations, Community Protection Assistants and other stakeholders.
In addition, it will ensure that the Police work more collaboratively with opinion leaders and state agencies to ensure law, order and security in communities collectively.
Also, District Commanders, who would be the main drivers of the Strategy, will be required to develop Security and Crime prevention plans with stakeholders in their respective jurisdictions.
These plans shall become their roadmaps and an essential element for Police accountability locally.
This strategy is based on research and consultation with Police Officers across the ranks and was developed by a team of consultants and community policing experts, including both serving and retired police officers and external experts.
I congratulate the consultants and the Technical Working Group for their efforts in producing this document, paving the way for implementing an improved Community policing Concept in Ghana.
I take this opportunity to thank the German Development Agency, GIZ, for providing support and expertise to the Ghana Police Service in developing the Strategy.
In addition, GIZ also supported the Police Administration to organise workshops on the Strategy for District Police Commanders and Inspectors.
They would serve as zonal supervisors within Accra and Tema Police Regions.
These workshops served as pilot projects and would be followed by a nationwide rollout of the Enhanced Visibility and Community Policing Strategy in all Police Regions.
Let me add that we have emphasised over the years that security is a shared responsibility between the Police and public members and in this spirit have collaborated with the people all these years in preventing and fighting crime to make our communities safer.
Thankfully, this Strategy comes in now to provide a structured framework to strengthen and enhance this collaboration for safe, secure and peaceful communities in our country.
On this positive note, I now declare the Enhanced Visibility and Community Policing Strategy of the Ghana Police Service duly launched.
