Police computerises firearm registries

Page 48: Daily Graphic, May 27, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has begun the computerisation of all its Firearm Registries throughout the country.
The programme, which is being supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will facilitate the tracking of the importation, sale, registration and licensing of small arms, as well as communication and sharing of information by the various registries.
It will further help the police know the people whom licences have been issued to possess arms, where they live, what they do, what type of guns they possess and to promote responsible gun ownership.
Six of the registries have already been computerised and fitted with Local Area Networking (LAN) facility while the remaining registries in Tema, the Volta, Eastern, Upper East and Upper West regions, would be computerised between this year and next year.
The Interior Minister, Mr Cletus Avoka, disclosed this in a speech read on his behalf when the UNDP presented 20 computers and accessories worth $40,000 to the Ghana Police Service in Accra on Tuesday.
He said the support to the Ghana Police Service was in line with the Small Arms Commission and the UNDP objective of strengthening the capacity of the security agencies to better manage the threats posed to development by small arms.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, who is also the chairman of the Small Arms Commission, urged Ghanaians to deepen the peace and stability that the country was enjoying by doing away with small arms.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Quaye, expressed appreciation for the support.
He said beside capturing the data, the computerised registry would profile all persons dealing in arms whether as importers, wholesalers, retailers or purchasers.
The UNDP Country Representative, Mr Dauda Toure, who presented the computers with a locally designed and customised software, called on the media to support the campaign against the proliferation and misuse of small arms.