Can Madam IGP fly?

Page 19: Daily Graphic, February 9, 2009.

Article:Albert K. Salia

"It shall be the duty of the Police Service to prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders, and to maintain public order and the safety of persons and property," Section One of Police Service Act, Act 350.

NEWS of the appointment of Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson as acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), was received with surprise by people who know the intriguing manoeuvrings of the Ghana Police Service.
The questions that many of them asked was "Can Mrs Mills-Robertson fly? Can she deliver on President J. E. A. Mills’ pledge to provide security for all Ghanaians?"
These reservations were underscored by the fact that even as deputy IGP, some of her subordinates attempted and others actually often undermined her as if she was non-existent. More worrying was the argument that apart from being in-charge of Prosecutions/Courts since joining the Ghana Police Service, Mrs Mills-Robertson has not been in active mainstream policing regarding operations or criminal investigations. Indeed her appointment as Deputy IGP by the Kufuor Administration was greeted with disquiet because she was hand-picked above her seniors.
It is based on some of these issues that the question of whether she can fly arises? The crude lobbying and underhand dealings in the Police Service, especially at the top hierarchy is such that it is only a principled, disciplinarian, inspirer and fair-minded person who can command the Service, particularly at this time when morale is so low and the image of the service has sunk to such disturbing limits. It is an incontrovertible fact that patronage has become the gateway to progress in the Ghana Police Service. As a result, professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline seem to have completely broken down.
Hopefully, the experience of Mrs Mills-Robertson as chairperson of the Central Disciplinary Board should come in handy. But most importantly, she must address the canker of patronage if she is to succeed.
The problems within the Service are well-known and actually documented and I believe that the President took that into consideration in deciding to appoint her. So she has the golden opportunity of demonstrating her competence and capability to justify the President’s trust in her.
Her pledge to wage a relentless war on criminal activities throughout the country is re-assuring but vigorous action is needed to convince a sceptical public which seems to have lost confidence in the police because of its unsatisfactory performance. The lack of public confidence in the Police was worsened with the numerous cocaine and bribery scandals that swallowed the service in the last couple of years. Professionalism and competencies of people the new IGP would appoint to assist her are key to her success.
Whatever it is, the President also has a responsibility to make the IGP succeed. The President with the help of his advisors must draw a charter for the Office of the IGP. The charter must state the objectives and targets to be realised which must be assessed on an annual basis. This must be based on benchmark performance for which the IGP must be accountable. It should be the task of the Police Council, the first oversight body and the sector Minister to ensure that these objectives were achieved.
The President and for that matter, the government must ensure that the resources needed for success were readily available. Although all the problems cannot be immediately resolved, issues of accommodation, logistics vis-à-vis communication gadgets and vehicles, insurance for personnel should be given serious thought. The issue of insurance for personnel must be addressed because the motivation to die on the job and leave behind an uncatered for family, is demoralising enough for personnel not to risk so much.
Besides unemployment, the greatest challenge to fighting crime in the country is the sprawling neighbourhoods where there are no Police Stations and unmotorable roads to those new development communities which are usually quiet at day and night. More vehicles must be provided to increase the patrols in those areas.
Prior to the departure of Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong and his predecessors, the crude lobbying that was taking place resulting in some personnel even planting negative stories in the newspapers, made a former National Security Co-ordinator, Mr. K. B. Quantson, condemn what he termed "the scramble and intense lobbying for the post of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the Ghana Police Service."
This lobbying among senior Police Chiefs over the topmost job in the service reflects serious defects in the structure of the law enforcement body, which makes progress not dependent upon loyalty to the state, competence and efficiency. The most efficient and diligent officers who decide to stay off lobbying are often those maligned.
The government must review the structural inefficiencies that exist in the Police Service which results in officers openly lobbying for top positions in the service whenever there was a change of government.
These problems which had persisted over time, continue to endure because recommendations made by successive committees were not followed by both the Police Service and the government. A case in point is the Archer Commission Report which must be revisited with all urgency.
Lobbying in any law enforcement situation should be discouraged and even condemned because of the likelihood of the infiltration of organised crime syndicates who could support a candidate in order to win favour and protection.
No doubt, there is quality of personnel in the Ghana Police Service. With the right structures and resources, effective leadership and supervision as well as effective oversight mechanism, so much can be done.
But there is also concern of bad personnel in the system arising partly out of an unprofessional recruitment mechanism which allows unqualified and unsuitable persons be recruited and partly out of a structural defect that allows bad personnel to remain in the system. With the right structures and policy changes, the Ghana Police Service would regain the admiration and respect of many.
It should be emphasised that the accountability and oversight mechanisms are on current evaluations, totally ineffective. This can be attributed to both policy and structural deficiencies. The government must take a good look at the procedure and mode of appointment of an IGP. What would be the laid down rules governing such appointment.
As stated earlier, on appointment, an IGP should be given target realisation objectives which should be assessed on a continuous annual basis to determine effective performance.
The Police Council which is the immediate oversight authority of the Police Service, should also be tasked in a similar manner. Oftentimes, the Police Council is always accused of not being heard and subject to policy directions of an IGP. For instance, at the height of the cocaine and bribery scandals, the Police Council was accused of being impotent. The public expected the Council to have asserted its oversight authority by guiding and guarding any investigations within the Service and making its voice heard.
The point must be stressed that should the Police Council fail to ensure that the police performs effectively, it too should be held accountable and then most crucially, there should be the mechanism to take the sector Minister to task for a non-performing Police Service.
His Excellency, President J. E. A. Mills must set the ball rolling by ensuring that the Police Council to be made up of highly competent people, is constituted as early as possible to provide the policy guidelines and directions of the Police Administration. The Council must use all the powers conferred on it by the Constitution, especially the control and administration of the service and conditions of service of the personnel.
The accountability mechanism could be further strengthened by the establishment of an independent body to handle complaints made against the Police. The present arrangement where the police virtually has to investigate itself through the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) is outmoded and ridiculous. Some officers, particularly the junior ranks often accused the PIPS of always using junior officers as the benchmark of performance while offending senior officers are left off the hook. Should that be the case?
It is also the conviction of this writer that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) needs serious attention. The CID remains the most vital part of any Police system in the world. It is, therefore, important that it is restructured and resourced to effectively respond to the demands of modern syndicated crime.
It is also important that a Crime Intelligence Unit within the CID is established to source intelligence on crime and criminality to enhance proactive policing. In establishing the unit, the personnel should be made to understand that their responsibility was not to be effecting arrests or investigating cases. The use of retired and experienced hands in such a unit should be highly considered since they have a depth of information and contacts that young officers might not have.
Mrs Mills-Robertson, if you take off effectively, the nation will fly with you. Action speaks louder than words. If your deeds do not elicit confidence, nothing will.