By Godfred A. Polkuu
Bilinsa (U/E), July 26, GNA – Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Tabiri, Builsa, North Municipal Police Commander in Upper East Region, has advised parents and guardians not to use Police to scare their children.
“Normally, when a child does something wrong, we hear some parents and members of the public say they will call in the police to arrest the child. Such a child will grow to dislike the Police, and this gradually widens the gap between the Police and community members,” he said.
The Commander urged the public to regard officials of the Ghana Police Service as friends they could interact with freely, saying the act of using Police officials to scarce children would instil some fear in them about the Police.
ASP Mr Tabiri made the call at a Police-Community Dialogue session at Bilinsa, a community near Sandema in the Builsa North Municipality, organized by the Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
The dialogue was to create a platform for officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Bilinsa community members to defuse suspicion and build trust to improve police-community relations and confidence.
The programme is one of the activities under the European Union (EU) supported programme; “Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Action in the Northern Regions of Ghana”.
Mr Tabiri said the Police administration at the national and District levels was working to ensure “Child-friendly policing where we interact with children for them to know the police are their friends and not enemies.
“Even the Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare visits schools to interact with children to take away the fear between the Police and civilians,” ASP Tabiri said.
He said the management of the Service introduced the concept of Community Policing to enable community members and the police to work together to combat crime.
“We are stakeholders in the fight against crime, and we need to work together to build trust and confidence.”
Mr Tabiri noted that the Police Service needed the support and collaboration of all citizens to enable it to work effectively and encouraged community members at the dialogue to endeavour to share vital information with the Police.
“Have confidence in us, give us information, and we will act based on it so that we can have a safe community,” the Commander said.
Mr Carlven Avaba-Ngaang Afelik, Officer-in-Charge at the Municipal Directorate of the NCCE, called for trust and cooperation between the Police and community members.
He said a community that trusted its Police Service was one that felt safe, supported and respected, and conversely, a Police Service that trusted its community could perform its duties more effectively with community backing and cooperation.
He said the dialogue was significant as violent extremism still posed a threat to national security, community stability and individual safety, and expressed gratitude to the EU for its support to the Commission over the years.
GNA