Ashanti Police Worried About Minors In Violent Crimes

The Ashanti Regional Police Command has expressed concern about a disturbing trend of minors engaging in violent crimes in recent times in the region, blaming it on parental neglect. The command in its most recent operations arrested three teenagers as young as twelve (12), fifteen (15), and sixteen (16) years. They reportedly attacked and robbed their victim, Samuel Opoku, of his mobile phone and an unspecified amount of money at the Breman Commentary Junction in Kumasi on March 15. The minors also inflicted deep razor blade wounds on the victim and left him to his fate at about 21:30 hours. The victim only identified the three about a month later when he came across them harassing another person and caused their arrest, but one of them fled. A search on them uncovered a locally-made pistol, four pairs of scissors, phones, knives, unspecified amount of money and some pieces of cement paper suspected to be used to wrap Indian hemp. Expressing concern about the arrests, Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander ACP Ampofo Duku said inasmuch as their duty was to arrest perpetrators of crimes, it was important for parents and society at large to nurture children with good morals. �Parents must exercise their effective parental control over their children because if children are well taken care of at home, if proper advise is given them, if God is introduced to them, I don�t think they will go to such lengths,� the Deputy Police Commander advised. He is however calling on stakeholders charged with the management of the Kumasi Remand Home for juvenile offenders to as a matter of urgency renovate the facility which has been closed down for nearly a year. �The home is for government and the social welfare and other stakeholders so it is their responsibility to maintain the place so that when children who offend the law are brought there, they can imbibe lessons for their transformation� he admonished. Meanwhile, the three minors have been remanded by a Kumasi Circuit Court presided over by D.W.P. Amedior. They are to be sent to the Juvenile Remand Home which Ultimate Radio can report has been closed down since July last year. They are to reappear in court on May 5, 2014.