New measures to fight crime

Page 3: Daily Graphic, July 15, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has announced new measures to help deal with armed robbery and other criminal activities.
Accordingly, and with immediate effect, all riders of motorbikes and drivers of model of vehicles known to be used for armed robbery will be seriously interrogated if found after 8 p.m.
That follows the realisation that most armed robbers are using motorbikes and some cars to perpetrate crime.
It has also announced a 24-hour patrol system to avoid any gaps in police duties.
Senior officers are now to lead police patrols with immediate effect.
Expatiating on the new measures in an interview yesterday, the Director-General of Police Operations, DCOP John Kudalor, said the questioning and interrogation would, however, not be limited to the known cars used in robberies or criminal activities but other vehicles as well.
He said anyone found on a motorbike after 8 p.m. would be thoroughly interrogated by the police. According to him, it did not matter whether the motorbike was registered or not.
DCOP Kudalor reminded the public that it was unlawful to use an unregistered vehicle after 6 p.m. and gave indication that the police would strictly enforce that law.
With regard to the 24-hour patrol system, he explained that there used to be a lull when patrol teams were taking over from those “falling-out” after performing their duties.
He, however, said with effect from today patrol teams falling out would have to wait till their counterparts took over from them.
DCOP Kudalor said senior police officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police to Superintendent would now lead the various patrol teams, instead of Inspectors and Chief Inspectors.
He said there would also be increased snap checks at various locations and appealed to members of the public to co-operate.
He said the tent cities introduced three weeks ago were to be increased to more vulnerable communities and urged the communities to buy the tent city idea to ensure its success.
An initiative of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, the tent cities are to serve as the first points of call by residents of communities in which they are sited to relay information on suspected criminal activities or suspicious characters within those areas.
Each tent city will be provided with a telephone number to serve the communities and reduce time of response to distress calls.
Already, the tent cities have been mounted at East Legon, the Achimota Golf Club and Dzorwulu, while other areas such as Taifa, Dansoman, Dome Pillar II and Awoshie were being considered, depending on the co-operation of the residents to the citing of the cities there.
Officers on duty at the tent cities will relay any information to the patrol teams within their vicinities.
DCOP Kudalor urged members of the communities in which the tent cities would be located to visit them to interact with the police personnel and share relevant information with them.
He also urged the public to call the Police Operations hotlines 021-773906 and 021-773695 or 191 on Tigo, Vodafone and Kasapa networks.
Meanwhile, the police have advised that people who are not in need of police assistance should not call the numbers to afford people in trouble the opportunity to access those numbers.