The usually tight-lipped police on Friday decided to bare the acute shortage of accommodation they face as they painted a graphic account for the eyes of Interior Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah. Out of the four police stations and barracks in the Central Region visited by the Minister, only one was found to be owned by the state. The other three, like most police stations in the country were rented premises. So acute was the problem that policemen working in many stations slept on verandas and in open spaces. The Minister was told of the plight when he visited the Kasoa, Bawjiase, Mankrong junction and the Agona Swedru police stations. At Kasoa, the District Commander, Deputy Superintendent Charles Adalong said the major problem facing the personnel was accommodation. He said that most of the personnel who had been transferred from Accra had to commute to Kasoa daily. Some of them said that they slept on the balcony of the station. At Bawjiase the Minister was informed that the Ewutu-Efutu-Senya- District Assembly had offered an old cocoa shed to the Bawjiase Police to be used as a police station and residence. The Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Nat Acquah said inspectors’ bungalows were used as offices. Mr Kan Dapaah assured the police that the government was doing everything possible to address their accommodation problems, adding that government was also sourcing money from the foreign private investors to undertake a housing project for the police. He said the police had performed creditably in maintaining peace, law and order especially at reducing violent crimes. At a recent Police Council meeting, a decision was taken on the need for all police cells, stations and barracks to be renovated. The Minister said the meeting also deliberated on the need for permanent police stations to be built rather than renting private premises, most of which were not suitable for use as police stations. Source: The Ghanaian Times