<<Print>>

The Police Administration has warned its personnel that, henceforth, it would not accept untoward behaviour towards the public and would deal with any police officer who violated this principle. Alhaji Hamidu Mahama Sampa, Commissioner of Police in charge of Special Duties, gave the warning at the passing out of 316 police recruits at the Pwalugu Police Training School in the Upper East Region on Thursday. He cautioned the personnel against extortions, laziness and drunkenness. �I wish to reiterate that any policeman or policewoman whose act, commission or omission tends to soil the good image of the Service shall not be spared. Acts that drag the name of the service into disrepute will attract nothing but severe sanctions,� he said. Alhaji Sampa, however, said the Police Administration would continue to encourage and reward personnel who conducted themselves professionally in the dispensation of their duties. The recruits, who underwent six months training, were taken through topics like Criminal Law, Criminal Procedures, Law of Evidence, Criminal Investigation, Practical Police Duties, Basic Officer Skills, Professional Ethics, Human Rights, Community Policing, Weapon Handling and Map Reading. He entreated them to put the knowledge they had acquired into practice and exercise good discretion in the discharge of their duties. He indicated that the Police Administration was undertaking various policies and interventions in the areas of reforms and restructuring aimed at improving the skills, competencies and professionalism of personnel to meet the modern challenges in policing. Alhaji Sampa said the Police Service was focusing on enhanced maintenance of law and order and the protection of life and property through �visibility policing�. He explained that visibility policing enabled visibility and accessibility of police personnel in the major settlements of the country including the intensification of day and night patrols, improving upon intelligence gathering and increasing traffic management activities. He stressed the need for stronger police-public co-operation, which he said, was very critical in combating crimes and appealed to all stakeholders, particularly communities, to volunteer information to the police to help deal with crime. Recruit Mutala Tijani was presented with an award for emerging the overall best recruit.