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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reminded the commanders, officers and men and women of the Ghana Police Service that they owe it a duty to ensure that the poor and vulnerable in society are not disadvantaged, and placed at the mercy of the rich and powerful, when it comes to the enforcement of rule of law.

According to the president, what society expects from the Police is to enforce the law in a manner that guarantees the right of the poor and needy, and does justice to them.

In this regard, President Nana Akufo-Addo charged the Police Service to be neutral in the discharge of their duties, while assuring the service of his government’s non-interference in their work.

He was addressing the officers and men of the Police Service at the end of year get-together at the Police Headquarters on Friday.

“I would not want to take much of your time, as I see that many of you are eager to hit the dancing floor and make merry. Bur let me leave you with the words of Holy Scripture in Psalms 82:3-4 which says ‘Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy’,” the president told the gathering.

He observed: “In a democracy, the organizations that are generally referred to as constituting the security services, such as the police, are expected to be politically neutral in performing their duties. The law states so and normal practice gives them this neutral outlook. It is in everybody’s interest that the Police Service retains the neutrality and professionalism guaranteed under the Constitution. Governments have term limits and in a multi-party democracy, parties win and lose power.”

The president continued,” It is good for the health of the nation that this is so, and this is why the Police Service should not be made to tie their well-being or otherwise to the fortunes of the ruling party of the day.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo pledged that his government would work closely with the Police Service to “ensure that you are left to focus on your core mandate and not to be an appendage of my government.”

He said he envisaged a Police Service “that goes about its duty of protecting ordinary citizens, confident that there will be no interference from the powers that be.”

The President also emphasized that there was the need to recruit more personnel into the service in order for them to carry out their mandate in a more effective manner.

“My government will continue recruitment into the police service with the aim of meeting the UN ratio. We will also ensure gender equity in this regard,” he said, charging the Service to ensure that the mode of its recruitment and training conformed to acceptable international standards.

“We will go back to the old days of policing, where people thought all the efforts of the police was meant towards making their lives comfortable and secure,” he said.

The president paid a glowing tribute to some past officers of the Service for the sacrifices they made for the nation.

“I see that the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mr. John Kudalor, is here with us this afternoon, as well as some of his predecessors, like Peter Nanfuri, now a big traditional ruler, and C.O. Lamptey. The Police Service is where it is today as a result of the solid job you and the other senior retired officers did during your respective tenures of office. ‘Ayekoo’. I know that Mother Ghana will continue to draw on your expertise in other fields of our national life,” he stated.

He also commended the Service for ensuring a generally peaceful conduct of the 2016 election, and doing so in a professional manner, adding: “That is what the nation expects of you and you acquitted yourselves creditably.”

“The nation is grateful, too, for the speed with which you have brought the troubling developments in Bimbilla under some control. I want to thank you also for the credit you bring to our nation by the professional and impressive manner you discharge your peacekeeping duties,” President Nana Akufo-Addo added.

The president noted that the most important thing for a nation is the peace and safety of its people, and its territorial integrity, explaining that it is when these are guaranteed that citizens can go about their lives in security and hope to improve upon the quality of their circumstances.

“We all sleep, feeling safe, because you, our police men and women, work to keep our nation and our streets safe. Today, I pay tribute to you. You deserve our respect and support, and I look forward to working with you over the course of my administration to ensure law and order in our country,” he added.