A senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo says political interference should partly be blamed for bad policing in the country.

According to him, the majority of junior officers are “political party members” who have “no idea” and “no interest” in policing.

“They are forced into the service because there is no job,” he said in an interview with NEAT FM’s morning show, Ghana Montie.

Professor Ransford Gyampo, however, wants inflexible structures that allow only “serious” persons into the service.

“The protocols are too many in the service so officers are not committed to the work,” he lamented.

The lecturer was discussing the role of the police in the Islamic Senior High School chaos which happened on Monday, June 13, 2022, that left some students hospitalized.

Interdicted Over Anti-Islamic Comments

Four more police officers have been interdicted for their roles in the the Islamic SHS protest and how the police handled the protesters.

This brings to a total of seven, police officers who have been interdicted in connection with the issue by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.

The four new officers, consisting of a Chief Inspector, an Inspector, and two Corporals, are part of the team that were said to have video-recorded the clash. They were heard passing derogatory comments against adherents of the Mohammedan faith over the Islamic SHS students’ protest in the police control room while watching the incident on the close circuit television (CCTV) screen.

The police, are however, tight-lipped on the identities of the personnel.

Unprofessional

Professor Gyampo believes the police were “unprofessional” on that day – but said more can be done to prevent future occurrences.

“We have some serious officers out there who carry out duties professionally,” he said.

Adding that, “If their police service is allowed to recruit genuine person, these incidents will stop.”

Commendation

In a related development, the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCSALW) and the National Peace Council (NPC) have commended the Ghana Police Service for their swift action in the recent Islamic Senior High School (SHS) incident.

Their commendation comes off the back of the sanctioning of senior police officers for breach of Police procedures and instituting further investigations into the Islamic SHS demonstration against the frequent knockdown of students and staff at the entrance of the school.

This was cited in a joint press release issued by the NCSALW and the NPC.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana