Bad Roads Aid Armed Robbery

The Brong-Ahafo Region witnessed an increase in robbery cases in 2013, compared with that of the year 2012. The robbery occurred mainly at Atebubu-Kwame Danso and Kajeji areas.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Patrick Adusei Sarpong, Deputy Regional Police Commander, who disclosed this, explained that due to the bad nature of that road, the robbers strike frequently.

Speaking at the Regional Police Command’s Annual Get-together, popularly referred to as West African Security Services Association (WASSA), ACP Sarpong, indicated that robbery in the region as a whole had currently reduced considerably, due to measures like Police escort put in place by the Regional Police Command.

He said some of the arrested robbers were prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from five (5) to seventy (70) years.

The celebration marked a period of stock-taking of the previous years’ performance, and mapping out of strategies to perform even better services in the current and ensuing years.

ACP Sarpong said Police in the region provided excellent election security coverage before, during and after the Election Petition, as no major incident was recorded after the declaration of the verdict.

He continued that more swoops were conducted for the arrest and prosecution of narcotic offences, as there was an increase of 66 per cent in narcotic cases.

According to the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Brong-Ahafo was one of the few regions in the country, which did not witness any market fire outbreak in 2013, explaining that Police Service in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) secured all markets in the region, after extensive public education had taken place.

“Tents were erected as Security Posts in the major markets in the region for the provision of 24 hour joint security surveillance by Police-Fire Service personnel”, he added.

He continued that Police in conjunction with other stakeholders in the Transport industry such as the Regional Road Safety Committee, DVLA, GPRTU, National Ambulance Service and the Metro Mass Transit educated road users on measures to ensure safety on the roads.

ACP Sarpong said whereas in 2012 the region recorded 51 per cent of knock-down cases, the figure drastically reduced to 13 per cent in 2013, due to the effective collaboration of the Police with other stakeholders in the transport industry.

According to him, Police performance for the past year had received very appreciable public commendation and rating, which could be attributed to the visibility and accessibility patrols which are innovations introduced into the Ghana Police Service by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Alhassan.

He said it is a new policing method which has come to stay and would ensure its sustainability.

ACP Sarpong advised police personnel to exhibit professionalism in the course of their duties, by desisting from