The newly established Formed Police Unit (FPU), the unit for democratic policing, under the United Nations (UN) policy guidance by the Ghana Police Service (GPS), says in the next two weeks it will deploy one hundred and forty (140) personnel to protect life and property, during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s ) Congress to elect National Executives Committee (NEC) members in Tamale, the regional capital of the Northern Region.
The unit, which was formerly the Armoured Squad Squadron, was transformed barely a year ago into FPU as part of the UN’s measures to ensure human friendly policing.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) John Kudalor, made this disclosure at the unit’s annual celebration of West African Security Services Association (WASSA) at the police training school in Accra.
According to him, members of the unit, would be deployed to the congress grounds of the opposition NPP to ensure security and ward off possible criminals who may want to disrupt the event to elect national executive members of the party.
He said the decision to deploy a large number of the members of the unit for the Congress, was within the tenets of the UN’s policy on democratic policing across the world.
He added that formation of the new unit was made possible with assistance from the Italian and United States of America (USA) governments in conformity with the UN resolutions on modern policing.
He said the unit since its establishment has enjoyed tremendous support from the headquarters management team of the service as well as the Inspector General of the Ghana Police Service himself, Mohammed Alhassan.
He called on the members of the unit to be duty bound, and show commitment towards duty and be time bound to change the face of the service.
In a welcome address, the Commandant of the FPU, Superintendent Alhaji Ayikande Musa Hamza Yakubu urged his colleague members of the service particularly the junior officers to expose their colleague miscreants in the service.
According to him, the situation where a few police personnel engage in practices that go contrary to the rules and regulations of the service will not be countenanced.
He said when a hand of officers engage in these practices , the public particularly the media turn to take on the service commanders, as if the actions of the junior officers were sanctioned by their commanders.
He said without the establishment this unit, organization’s like National Disaster Organization (NADMO) and Ghana Fire Service cannot operate fully without the unit because the unit is the first cordoned off disaster scenes before their arrival.
Giving a background of the unit, the Commandant said the unit was established with five hundred and forty personnel representing four sections namely Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta who were specially trained to police special events like public rioting, guarding Very Very Important (VVIP) personalities and convoy protection in the country.