Head of Communications for the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), has called on the Police Service to conceal the identity of persons who provide vital information on crime.

George Ayisi stated that, it is important for the Police and other security agencies to adopt a proper means of protecting informants. This will drive civilians to alert them of suspected criminal cases in the various communities.

George Ayisi explained that the Police need information to combat crime but most people feel reluctant to help the Police because of insecurity. This according to him, is as a result of the failure of the Police to protect the identity of most informants.

“The Police needs to be proactive in handling criminal cases, this can be achieved if it works hand in hand with informants. The unfortunate thing is that these informants have their details publicised, leading to a mistrust of the Service”, he stated.

Speaking with Joy Prime’s Benjamin Akakpo on Prime Morning on Tuesday, he said, most people do not trust the Police enough to give them vital information on crime in the Country.

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“The fight against crime will be successful when the public trust the Police. There is mistrust when the identity of the informants gets to the public domain, the insecurity associated with it, prevents people from giving out such information”, he added.

Data from the Statistics Research and Monitoring Unit (SRMU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service indicates that 306 murder cases have been reported to the Police in the first half of 2021.  

The statistics show a 20 percent increase in crime as compared to the same period in 2020. Many people are calling on security agencies to act swiftly to miminise the menace.

Reacting to this call, the Head of Communications stated that, fighting crime takes a collaborative effort between security agencies and the general public. However, he advised that the Police should prioritise the safety of people who give out vital information relating to crime.

He recounted that there had been incidents where informants were included in punishing perpetrators of a specific crime, according to him, such incidents scare people from alerting the Police on suspected criminal cases.

“Civilians have helped the Police to combat crime in many instances, but the unfortunate thing is that the details of these people are made known to the public, this brings mistrust to the Police, hence the need for the Service to adopt a proper way of keeping the identity of civilians assisting in criminal investigations”, he advised.