About a Police Force

  Ghana Police Service in Order

For a country that's borne the brutality of colonisation - from the stripping of its mineral wealth to the enslaving of its people - Ghana retains a remarkable sense of self-sufficiency in its subsistence. Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, the country in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. It boasts of a rich cultural history right from the colourful kente cloth woven by the Ashanti tribes to the intricate designs of wood craft to that of the splendid architecture of castles lining the coast.

Recent findings of INTERPOL record Ghana as the country to have the lowest crime rate in the African Commonwealth Region. (Source INTERPOL Analysis 2004). The following article profiles the Ghana Police Service.

 Mission Statement

The Ghana Police Service agree "to ensure a proactive and professional approach to the prevention and detection of crime, protection of life and property and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders."

Brief History of policing in Ghana

The police system dates as far back as 1821. Prior to this, local chiefs and headmen employed unpaid messengers known as "ahenfie police" to do the work of the police. Fear of facing harassment from the indigenous inhabitants compelled the colonial masters to form army like units such as the Gold Coast Corps and the Royal Corps to protect their forts and trade routes between 1821 and 1844. However, these groups were disbanded in 1860 and were replaced by the more efficient West Indian Regiment. The British colonialists gained control over the entire city colony of Gold Coast in 1871. A need was then felt by them to create a police force which would help them deal with "warlike" Ashantis and Akan tribes. To this end they imported an army of seven hundred Hausa men into Gold Coast from Northern Nigeria and the West Indies. Four hundred of them were then used to form the Gold Coast Constabulary in 1871 under the Police Force Ordinance, which was promulgated in the same year.

Ghanian Police through the years Source: Ghana Police

In 1921, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was established. The plains clothes personnel of this branch are employed as specialists in connection with various aspects of crime detection. The police institution has at different times been called "service" or "force" depending on the shifts in government policy. The attainment of Republican status for Ghana in 1960, saw the changing of the name Ghana Police Force into Ghana Police Service.

With the enactment of the Police Force (amendment) Decree, in 1974, the Ghana Police Service was removed from the control of the Public Service Commission and restored to the status of an autonomous organisation. The organisation branched itself into smaller units i.e. into districts and divisions to enable it to cope with the ever increasing demands of the public.

Organisation and Administration

It was first during the 1950s, when the British instituted several changes in the Gold Coast Police Service to modernise, enlarge and better equip the functioning of the police service. Of greater importance was Britain's decision to Africanise the police. Initially the British had restricted access to senior positions in all branches of colonial administration, but owing to agitation from Ghanaian nationalists, this trend was gradually reversed. In 1951, for example, 64 of 80 senior police officers were foreigners but by the year 1958 only 11 of these senior officers retained were of foreign origin. The first Ghanaian Police Commissioner was Mr. E.R.T Madjitey.

The Police Service as of now is divided into two main groupings.

1. the overall command, control, supervision and monitoring activities are instituted at the National Headquarters level.
2. policing is spread throughout the length and breadth of the country by a regional command structure, with a regional commander at the helm of affairs. Each of the eleven regional commanders operate from the Headquarters establishment located at each of the regional capitals.

The service is a public service institution whose organisational and administrative structures are modeled on a paramilitary style. It is pyramidal in structure, with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) at the apex. An eight-member Police Council, established in 1969, advises the IGP on all personnel and policy matters. All recruits into the Police Service are required to be within the age group of 18-34 years of age, pass a medical examination and have no criminal record.

The IGP is directly assisted by the following officers, known as Schedule Officers, at the Police Headquarters in Accra:

• Commissioner of Police Administration
• Commissioner of Police Legal and prosecutions
• Commissioner of Police Technology and General Services
• Commissioner of Police Operations
• Commissioner of Police Human Resource Development
• Commissioner of Police Research and Planning
• Commissioner of Police Welfare

Ghana's law enforcement establishment consists of 351 police officers, 649 inspectors, and 15,191 personnel in other grades distributed among 479 stations. (Source: Ghana Police Service )

The Ghana Police Service prides itself on the newly established Women and Juvenile Unit more popularly known as WAJU. Established in October 1998, WAJU responds to the increasing number of cases of abuse and violence against women.

Keeping in mind the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the African sub-Saharan region, the service also initiated a programme on HIV/AIDS. Candidates for peer education were selected from all police administrative regions who in turn provided training sessions to the rest of the force. Those selected were provided training in health education, promotion of condom use, VCT promotion and media distribution. The highlight of the programme was the creation of 6000 condom wallets that were worn by the police personnel during patrolling.

Ghana Police College

Established on 4 February 1959 in Accra, with an initial intake of 14 selected Inspectors and Chief Inspectors, the college sought to provide local training to enable them to man key positions in the Service. Before then, commissioned officers of the Ghana Police were trained in the United Kingdom. It now offers a nine-month officer cadet course and two-to-six week refresher courses in general and technical subjects.

The taught subjects are Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Law of Evidence, Criminal Investigations, Practical Police Duties, Criminology, Sociology, English/general paper, Psychology, Map Reading, Health Education, Acts & Decrees and Financial Administration. The course also offers the cadet officers training in musketry.

Private Security and the Police Service

The private sector entered the realm of security services with the main aim of encouraging greater participation of the public to engage in maintaining law and order. The earmarked private security organisations employ members of the community after imparting extensive training. This has come to be considered by many analysts as an off shoot of community policing. The role is mainly restricted to performing guard duties in various public institutions such as banks, offices, foreign missions, recreational centers situated within a community etc. Even though there is no prescribed law, these companies operate under the supervision and directive of the Police Administration.

Ghana Police Service peacekeeping missions

The Ghanaian Contingent of the International Civilian Police (CIVPOL) has served peacekeeping missions around the world including Liberia, Namibia, Cambodia, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, East Timor and Haiti crediting the service as one of the most acclaimed peace keeping forces. The force was specially lauded for its efforts in 2004 by the United Nations for its work in Liberia. Ghana's participation in peacekeeping force began 34 years ago with the first deployment to UN peacekeeping operations in the Congo in 1960.

However in recent times, the Ghanaian police has come under scrutiny following reports of corruption in the selection procedure of police officers for the African Union (AU) peace mission in Sudan. It is alleged that officers tasked to supervise the selection process of the officers for the AU mission have turned it into a lucrative business for generating quick money. Some officers who did not undergo the selection process have had their names mysteriously included in the short listed men for the mission (Source: Chronicle, Ghanaian News).