The former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice [CHRAJ], Justice Emile Short has attributed the persistent violation of civilian rights by some security operatives to the lack of adequate training in riot control for those personnel. Citing instances of how rioting civilians are handled by security operatives in other parts of the world, Justice Short said there is no need for security personnel to use violence when dealing with unarmed civilians who are embarking on a protest for instance. Recent reports in the media have pointed to a growing incidence of security personnel taking actions that violate the rights of civilians in one form or the other. A recent case was the detention of a Joy FM reporter, Hannah Odame at the Passport Office in Accra when she was interviewing some aggrieved passport applicants. Speaking on Multi TV’s current affairs programme, PM EXPRESS, Justice Short also highlighted the zealousness of some security personnel as being a contributory factor in the reported cases of civilian abuses. He noted that “ideally, there should be a cordial relationship between the security personnel and civilians because the Police need the public to fight crime” and to fully execute their duties. He said there was the need for a lot more training for security officers to help them “understand and respect the rights of civilians.” Justice Short said the culture of impunity should not be tolerated in the country, urging the media to follow up on cases of civilian rights abuses and also for heads of the various security agencies to keep the public informed on how they handle such cases when they are brought before them. On the issue of an evangelist jailed for allegedly attempting to have sex with a police officer’s wife, Justice Short questioned “the propriety of newspapers carrying nude pictures on their pages” saying “it affects our sense of decency. We must strive to maintain a certain sense of decorum.” Story by Smart Nii Akrofi Abbey/Multi TV/Ghana