Police mark maiden ‘Police Week’

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. James Oppong-Boanuh has led police officers at the National Police Headquarters to undertake a seven-kilometre community walk through Tesano, Alajo, Kotababi, Newtown, Caprice, Abeka and neighborhoods around the National Police Training School in Accra, to interact and share with the public, crime prevention tips and national emergency lines to herald the maiden Police Week celebration.

Similar community walks and crime prevention education took place simultaneously across the country in all the ten regions and some police divisions. They were led by the respective Regional and Divisional Police Commanders.

In an address delivered on behalf of IGP David Asante Apeatu, his deputy, Mr. Oppong-Boanuh assured the public that: “The police administration has put concrete and pragmatic measures in place to promote transparency, consensus-building, inclusiveness, accountability, and respect for human rights.”

The Director-General in charge of the National Patrols Department, Commissioner of Police Mr. Akuriba Yaagy, also encouraged the police officers to apply community policing practices to ensure maximum safety within the communities.

The Police Week, the first of its kind in the history of the Ghana Police Service, has been instituted under the ongoing Police Transformation Programme in line with international best practices.

This year’s Police Week, which started on Saturday, 24 November 2018, with the community walk, is being marked until Friday, 30 November 2018 on the theme: “Renewing Police-Public Partnership for Community Safety”.

The aim, among others, is to enhance effective co-existence between the police and the citizenry to promote safer communities.

Throughout the week and across the country, police officers will engage the public with education on road safety, holiday safety, child safety, and crime prevention.

On Friday, there will be the “Police Memorial Day”, an event billed to be attended by President Nana Akufo-Addo to commemorate the death of police officers who perished in the line of duty.