Stop �Whatsapping� Whilst On Duty

DCOP Kofi Boakye, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, has challenged service personnel to consider the duties as a vocation rather than a job. The Police Chief observed that the public saw policing as a noble profession to rescue them in time of need, and for that matter, every police officer must have local knowledge to enable him/her become a guide and adviser to the citizenry. Speaking at a weeklong promotion course for about 360 personnel drawn from the lower ranks in the Ashanti Region, DCO Boakye said the promotion course was a legal requirement, which is in the C.I. 76 that every personnel must undergo before promotion. He stated that undertaking the course did not mean automatic promotion, saying the personnel ought to perform well at the end of the in-service course. The Regional Commander urged them to let the course run through them, instead of running through the course. According to him, police personnel must know why, how, and when to react, and not to react on mandated duty, adding that it will be useless to pass through the course and at the end fail and not be promoted. He also reminded them to be abreast with the economic and social challenges of the citizenry, and put into practice the wisdom and capacity to solve problems, as it is incumbent upon every policeman or woman to have knowledge about the socio-cultural problems of the people. He entreated the personnel to open their eyes to new strategies of armed robbery, hard crime and fraud in the system. �We have the duty and responsibility to help people overcome their problems, especially, socially, through discipline,� he said, adding, �it is when we discipline ourselves that we may have the moral right to discipline others in society who are undisciplined, to ensure law and order, and maintain peace and stability in the country.� He charged the personnel to turn a new leaf after the in-service training, and warned that no police personnel on duty should be seen talking on phone or whatsapping, saying such attitudes must stop, because those caught will face the full rigours of the law. DCOP Boakye urged them to rededicate themselves to the cause of the service, and gave the assurance that those, who delivered on their core mandate of protecting lives and properties in the region, would have the full support of the command and the administration, while those who conduct themselves unprofessionally, would be kicked out of the service.