President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated the support of the government for the recent actions taken by the acting Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare, which are eliciting strong backing from the public.
Addressing the graduation ceremony of the 50th Officer Cadet Course of the Ghana Police Service, on Friday (1 October), at Tesano, in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said the acting IGP “has, so far, vindicated my decision to repose trust in him to hold this high office.”
“I am confident that, once the necessary processes are completed, which I am sure will be soon, he will become our nation’s 23rd Inspector General of Police,” he said.
Touching on the recent incidents of violent crimes in some parts of the country, that have generated safety and security concerns from several sections of the public, he assured Ghanaians that the Police Service, and, indeed, all the other security services, are determined to deal decisively with the threats posed by dangerous criminals and criminal syndicates.
Support and cooperation
“We can help them succeed in this endeavour if we urge the Police and the other security services on, and give them as much support and cooperation in the fight as we can,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the most important things for a nation are the peace and safety of its people, and its territorial integrity.
Quoting from Article 200 (3) of the Constitution, which states that “the Police service shall be equipped and maintained to perform its traditional role of maintaining law and order”, the President explained that the ultimate goal of this provision is to ensure explicitly that the ordinary citizen feels safe, and can go about his or her everyday life, free from the fear of crime and insecurity.
“The Police Service is further mandated by the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) to prevent and detect crime, apprehend offenders, and maintain the safety of persons and property,” he said.
“The effective execution of this mandate is premised on building a professional police service that is accountable, responsive, transparent, trustworthy, and which accommodates the concerns of the general public that it serves. We want to go back to the good old days of policing where people felt that all the efforts of the police were geared towards making their lives more comfortable.”