President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday applauded the Ghana Police Service and expressed his admiration for the courage and sacrifices being exhibited by the officers and men of the service in confronting violent crime in the country. He said he was satisfied with the measures being taken by the Police Administration to deal with crime, particularly armed robbery, and reiterated his determination to ensure that the security services were well equipped to enable them to fight vices in society and safeguard the interests and welfare of the people. President Mills said this when he swore into office members of the Police Council at the Castle, Osu in Accra. The 10-member council, which is under the chairmanship of the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has the Interior Minister, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Paul Quaye; the Deputy Attorney-General, Mr Ebo Barton-Oduro, and Mr Ebow Quarshie, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), as members. The rest are Mr William Aboah, a former Commissioner of Police in Charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID); Mr Kwasi Nkansa, a former Commissioner of Police; ACP Dr Peter Wiredu, the Director of Administration at the Police Headquarters; Mr Paul Fori, representing the other ranks, and Mrs F.E. Naana Ampratwum, the Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior. The President said the success of the work of the police would depend largely on the co-operation and collaboration they got from the public and stressed the need for people to support the police by reporting deviant and suspicious characters. Mr Mahama, for his part, assured the President that the members of the council would discharge their duties with honour and responsibility. He commended the IGP and the other heads of the security services for their efforts at bringing armed robbery under control and advised against attempts by armed robbers to engage the police in the exchange of fire, since that would compel the police to fight back. Mr Mahama recalled the steps taken to equip the police to enable them to perform effectively, mentioning the vehicles presented recently by the President, efforts at establishing detective schools, among others, to buttress his point. The Vice-President pledged the council’s firm determination to fight the menace of hard drugs in the country, saying, “The reputation of the police has been tarnished with alleged cases of narcotics and we are going to be firm in dealing with this menace.” Mr Mahama also touched on recruitment into the Police Service and stressed that “recruitment will be fair and for all qualified Ghanaians”. He said the government was sourcing for funds to improve on accommodation, as well as logistics, for the service. The Chairman of the Council of State, Prof Kofi Awoonor, expressed his conviction that the constitutional role of the council would be vigorously pursued. Source: Daily Graphic