The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Rose Bio Atinga, has advised, prisoners who benefited from the recent amnesty announced by the President not to re-engage in acts that could send them back to jail. She said it behoved such prisoners to put into practice the skills they acquired while in prison for a decent living rather than go back to their criminal activities. Ms Atinga was speaking to The Ghanaian Times on the police’s preparedness to combat organised crime in the country vis-a-vis the amnesty granted to 1,021 prisoners. Ms Atinga said the released persons must be grateful to God and the President for the opportunity to lead a new life, adding that there were a number of prisoners who had missed such an opportunity. She said the fact that the President, acting in accordance with the laws of the land, had granted them pardon, should motivate them to lead decent lives. "Most of them have acquired skills in trade and education while in prison and it is my hope that they will put into practice what they studied," she said. Ms Atinga urged the ex-prisoners to partner the police to clamp down on criminal activities by taking advantage of the reward package for informants who supply useful tip-offs on criminals. She recalled instances where released prisoners were re-arrested for engaging in more serious crimes saying, "it does not show respect to the person who granted you that pardon.” She also appealed to the public and relatives of the released prisoners not to treat them as outcasts but help them to reintegrate into society. The President, on September 23, granted amnesty to 1,021 prisoners to mark the centenary celebration of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President. A statement signed by tire Interior Ministry said the granting of the amnesty was in accordance with the powers conferred on the President by Article 72 of the Constitution. Source: The Ghanaian Times