A lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Faculty of Law, Kissi Ajabeng has argued that the Police are not applying the 1992 Constitution as expected of them when effecting arrests. According to him, the Police often fail to give details of their arrest warrant before taking their suspects into custody contrary to the constitutional provision which states that at the time of arrest, the Police should state the reasons why the person is been arrested before he is taken. Speaking on Multi TV’s current affairs show, pm: EXPRESS, Mr. Kissi Ajabeng stated that under Section 208, “A person who publishes any statement, rumor or report with the aim of causing fear and alarm to the general public or to disturb public peace knowing that the rumor or statement is false, causes a misdemeanor”. “When the law talks about an act that is likely to cause fear and alarm, it is dealing with reasonable probabilities not fanciful possibilities” he added. The law on publishing false information to cause fear and panic has in recent times being rigorously enforced by the Police following what some have described as the widespread abuse of the prevailing freedom of speech. Chief Superintendent Hamza Ayamkebe Yakubu who was also on the show however explained that the Police have the power to arrest even without a warrant if they find out that someone is trying to commit an offence. Matters of criminal law are not at the mercy of individuals but at the prerogative of the state and the state decides whether or not to prosecute. Commenting on the botched trial of the FONKAR member, Ernest Owusu Bempah who was arrested last week for publishing false information, Chief Superintendent Yakubu said “the lawyers accurately knew the procedure that before we could have left for the court, the man ought to have been charged. We first obtain a caution statement, listen to the story, conduct further investigation and when we are convinced or prepared to go to court, then we charge him. We only had a caution statement based upon which our further actions were to be determined. It was at this stage that we realized that there was a need to grant him bail and we did.”