The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, has unveiled and an ambitious programme to, in his own words, “reaffirm public confidence in the Ghana police service.”

He said the public image of the police service had sunk so low that urgent steps needed to be taken to salvage the image of the Service.

Launching his one year Public Confidence Re-affirmation Campaign in Accra Tuesday, Mr. Alhassan cited acts of distortion, unlawful arrests and prolonged detention, meddling in civil matters by police officers, among others as the causes of the sunken image of the Ghana Police Service.

“It is an established fact that image, prestige and reputation are corporate values worth protecting at all times; these values are a vital motivational mechanism for improved performance; dignified and well respected workers create a positive reflection on the organization they belong to,” he said.

He expressed regret that the public’s perception of the police for a long time now, is not flattering at all.

This situation he said, compelled the police administration to do an assessment of police conduct and operations in search of answers to the problem of negative image of the service.

“The assessment also established some administrative weaknesses within the service that hamper the efficiency and effectiveness of police personnel,” he stated.

The IGP mentioned some of the administrative weaknesses as “Centralized power and authority rather than a functional chain of command and control; arbitrary postings and assignment of officers, sometimes based on issues like nepotism and favouritism or patronage; duplication of functions of units within the service; limited capacity building including lack of regular and effective training of personnel of all levels of management; lack of a civilian oversight mechanism, that is, an independent civilian complaints system."

Mr. Alhassan said the image of the police cannot be allowed to sink any further otherwise the service will lose its relevance as a law enforcement institution.

He said it is for this reason that the police administration had decided to adopt a paradigm shift in implementing “basic standards and practices reflective of a progressive, accountable and forward thinking law enforcement agency.”

To achieve this objective, the police service, according to him had embarked on a number of initiatives to educate the public on the role of the police in a democratic society.

Henceforth, all police officers will wear new service badges and numbers which will be conspicuous enough to enable the public appropriately identify police officers they wish to bring complaints against, he noted.

The IGP said the disciplinary procedures of the police service were also be enhanced to ensure speedy dismissal of rogue police officers.

He announced the establishment of a police public safety school to retrain police officers and sharpen their policing skills.

“As part of the internal measures and swift response to allegations of police misconduct and to ensure good practices of policing, a new inspection unit has been established to investigate any matter that comes to its notice regarding corruption allegations [against the police].”

He said the new unit also investigates “questionable prisoner escapes, jail breaks,…loss of fire arms and the unlawful use of fire arms.”

Mr. Alhassan, who has been highly commended for introducing novel ideas in the operations of the police since his appointment as IGP, said the Service had prepared and presented a paper to the Interior Ministry recommending the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints Commission in Ghana “which shall be a civilian oversight body within the Ministry of the Interior to assist in addressing police indiscipline and accountability in the country.”

The IGP reminded service commanders in particular and police officers in general, that their relevance as law enforcers depends heavily on the success of the initiatives he outlined.

It therefore behoved them, he insisted, to work to ensure that the objectives of the programme are achieved.

“The era where we acted with impunity is over – there should be no more excessive use of force, abuse of the rights of suspects, extortion of monies on roads and in offices, demanding money before granting bail, and poor investigation and prosecution of cases,” he said, warning that any violations will be punished severely.

He admonished Ghanaians to be good citizens, know their rights and pursue complaints against the police to their logical conclusion.

Mr. Alhassan also commended civil society organizations and the media for consistently holding the police accountable.

All Ghanaians must be good citizens and as “a good citizen, you must not bribe the police when the law catches up with you,” he added.