When Police Officers Run Riot

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    Ghana Police Service logo

    The story about policemen running riot at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) last Saturday made disturbing reading, unbecoming of police officers.

    What could have informed the decision of a commissioned officer of this important internal security organisation to behave the way Mr. Nimo, a DSP, allegedly did?

    We are not privy to the fine details about what took place, besides the contents of the newspaper, and would not be treating the subject fairly based merely upon one side of the coin.

    Suffice it to however express our disappointment that something which had the potential of causing fear and panic at the health facility did take place and the fact that the newspaper could not have carried fiction to that level.

    Given the possibility of a recurrence if something is not done now to obviate it, we are scared.

    We can state that this could be the first time that an unruly behaviour from police officers is taking place at a health facility in the country, a place which is conventionally shielded from hostilities in war situations. A few nasty incidences occurred in some hospitals during the so-called revolution of 1979, we are reminded anyway.

     No wonder it prompted a lot of questions from many sections of the society.

    We are scared about the repercussions of the development and would wish that the Police Administration wades into it with a view to dealing with it appropriately.

    Mr. Nimo, the DSP, who allegedly led his men to, as it were unleash mayhem on KATH as it was reported, will definitely have a story to tell. This would enable members of the Administrative Enquiry panel to establish without any shred of doubt what really happened.

    Was the story exaggerated? Was the action justified? These are some of the questions whose answers will assist members of the panel in their final decision and recommendation to the Police Administration.

    If indeed the police officer went to his district command, brought down personnel to deal with whatever challenge there was, the way he was reported to have done, he definitely has a lot of questions to answer.

    This raises a pertinent issue about the management of complaints from members of the public. We are pleased about the establishment of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) unit of the Ghana Police Service whose relevance in this direction cannot be overlooked.

    The existence and performance of the unit since its establishment has enabled members of the public who know about its existence to report issues of misconduct regarding personnel of the police for the appropriate action.

    We would ask that members of the public are adequately educated about how to seek the intervention of the unit so that our dream of having a reliable police service is achieved.

    Besides not knowing how to seek the intervention of the unit when necessary, it appears its centralization at the Police headquarters makes the accessing of its interventions virtually unfeasible to those living further afield.

    The Public Affairs Directorate of the Police should be resourced adequately to educate members of the public about how to access the interventions of the PIPS when they suffer at the hands of bad cops.