Ministry to enforce key cutting law licensing

Page 48: May 9, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ministry of the Interior has directed all locksmiths (key cutting operators) to take steps to legalise their operations.
It said under the Licensing Act of 1994, it was mandatory for all those engaged in cutting of keys to obtain licences before operating.
The move, according to the ministry, was part of measures to holistically deal with robbery and other associated crimes.
The Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, who gave the directive yesterday, explained to the Daily Graphic that the move to have the operators legalise their operations was in line with measures being taken to check robbery and other related crimes in the country.
He said it was an offence for any key cutter to operate without a licence.
He said some of the key cutters just like many Ghanaians, might not be aware of this provision in the Licensing Act of 1994, Locksmith/Key Cutting Licence.
Nana Boahen said it was in that respect that the ministry had decided to issue this directive in the form of an advice for them to take steps to licence their operations.
He explained that the promulgators of the law saw the importance of regulating the key cutting industry hence its enactment.
According to the minister, it was often observed that some suspected armed robbers and car thieves often had in their possession large quantities of keys each time they were caught.
Nana Boahen said the suspected criminals could come across such keys only after they had taken hold of a duplicate key of a house or a car.
He said it was suspected that some house helps or relatives of house owners might have taken the original keys to the locksmith to duplicate the key.
He explained that the procedure for duplicating a key included a visit to the house or car for inspection by the locksmith to ensure that the keys really belonged to the client.
Nana Boahen said procedures in acquiring a licence included applying for it and returning complicated application forms to the Minister of the Interior.
He said the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service would then vet the applicant to ensure that he or she had no criminal record, and visit the site of the shop.
He said if the CID recommended to the minister that a licence should be issued, the application would be granted.
Nana Boahen said the licence was renewable in January each year.
He said if Ghanaians were calling on the security agencies to help stem the tide of robbery, it was important that the issue was holistically dealt with.
“Do not forget that the citizenry also have role to play in curbing crime and everyone must be seen to be playing his or her part,” he said.
Moreover, he said, key cutting was a professional field and the practitioners must be streamlined in accordance with the law.