Christian Tetteh Yohuno, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has entreated motorists to give way to armoured bullion vehicles (ABVs) and exercise patience when they encounter them.

He said cooperation from road users was essential to ensuring the safe and efficient movement of the specialised vehicles and protecting the personnel, cash and valuables they transported.

Mr Yohuno made the appeal at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the guidelines and standards for the importation, retrofitting, usage and decommissioning of ABVs, organised by the Ministry for the Interior in Accra on Thursday.

The workshop brought together private security organisations, cash-in-transit (CIT) operators, retrofitting companies and importers to deepen their understanding of the regulatory requirements governing ABVs.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Yohuno said the increasing demand for ABVs made it imperative for them to meet appropriate standards of construction, security, road readiness, safety and operational effectiveness.

He said the guidelines set requirements for the importation and certification of vehicles, operational safety, crew training, vehicle tracking and surveillance, inspections and eventual decommissioning.

The IGP said the Ghana Police Service had established regional and district enforcement teams to enforce the guidelines and enhanced the inspection and monitoring of ABVs nationwide.

He said the Police had also removed soft-skinned CIT vehicles from operations nationwide, following a directive by the Minister for the Interior requiring financial institutions and entities engaged in CIT businesses to cease their use.

“I am pleased to inform you that there are currently no soft-skinned cash-in-transit vehicles in operation,” he said.

Mr Yohuno said the measures followed lessons from five armed attacks on CIT vehicles between 2021 and 2023, which resulted in the deaths of three police officers.

He said the Police had developed a standard operating procedure based on the ABV guidelines, which would operate alongside the Bank of Ghana’s Standard Operating Procedure to provide an operational framework for regulating the vehicles.

The IGP urged regional, divisional and district commanders to support enforcement teams to check the legitimacy and certification of ABVs and report non-compliant stakeholders to the Police Headquarters or the Ministry of the Interior.

He also urged retrofitting companies and importers to adhere strictly to the prescribed technical and safety requirements, noting that the quality and integrity of their work directly affected the safety of police officers, crew members and the general public.

Mr Yohuno said the safe and secure transportation of cash and other valuables was a shared responsibility and urged cooperation amongst stakeholders.