The police administration has given a strong warning to all its personnel in the country to stay away from taking any form of partisan position in the discharge of their duties.
To this end, any officer found culpable would be severely punished to serve as a deterrent to other personnel.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), John Kudalor, who made this known in Ho during a three-day working visit in the Volta Region, therefore, stressed that the Ghana Police Service (GPS) must be seen as fair, impartial, very professional and toe the middle line as much as possible, especially during the election period.
He stated that as stakeholders in the 2016 election expected to ensure a peaceful election, the service had launched a campaign dubbed ‘The Dialogue Series’, which had been replicated in the regions and the districts.
The series engages all stakeholders on how to be proactive in ensuring a peaceful, credible and acceptable election.
Be Media Friendly
Mr Kudalor also advised police personnel to be available to the media to answer their queries so as to churn out credible information.
“The media is not just as an ordinary corporate institution, but an emerging force that is potent and a powerful force in the running of the country. It is now the fourth realm of government,” he said.
To this end, “the media must not be treated in any form of discrimination or downplay. They must be treated fairly and assisted with any information they need,” he stressed.
He also announced that the National Press Centre of the Ghana Police Service in its headquarters, Accra, was being upgraded and resourced to be available at all time.
The Volta Regional Police Commander, ACP Redeemer Vincent Dedjoe, also appealed to the IGP to help beef their logistics in terms of personnel, vehicle and fuel. That, according to him, would help show police presence at all times and also boost the confidence of the people in the GPS.
Allocation Of Police To Presidential Candidates
Earlier on, the IGP announced that the police administration had allocated 60 police personnel to presidential candidates and their running mates.
He said the selected personnel had been adequately trained to provide maximum security to the candidates at all times.
Not too long ago, the NPP came under serious attacks for engaging foreigners to train their candidate’s guards and drivers which led to the deportation of the foreign security experts. That might have propelled the GPS to provide security to the candidates for the upcoming elections.
The IGP said due to the sensitive nature of protecting such high profile personalities, the candidates were invited, adequately briefed and given the opportunity to choose personnel of their own choice.
According to some guidelines recently published by the GPS concerning security for candidates during the electioneering period, the service intends to deploy four guards to each presidential candidate and two each for their running mates.
Election Preparedness
Mr Kudalor concluded that adequate arrangements had been made with support from other security agencies to beef up maximum security during the elections. He hinted the enlistment of 3,000 new personnel in the ongoing police recruitment exercise to augment the current 26,000 personnel.
“Adequate and optimum equipment and logistics are also available,” he added. Mr Kudalor and his entourage paid a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister, Helen Ntoso, the chiefs and elders of Ho and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the E.P Church, Dr Seth Agidi.
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