By Mohammed Balu
Chinchang,(UWR), July 12, GNA – Superintendent Kumpe Gbele, the Sissala East Municipal Commander of police, has appealed to communities to take their personal security seriously by ensuring that everything they do is properly done to avoid falling victim to wrong acts.
He also encouraged the community to form a community watchdog committee to protect themselves against acts that could derail the existing peace in the area.
Mr Gbele gave the advice during a community dialogue organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Chinchang in the Sissala East Municipality.
He encouraged the citizens to give information to the police saying, “Don’t wait till you have a problem with a person before you report their wrong acts but be bold to report once you notice it will affect the peace in the community”. He assured that “For any suspicious persons you report to us, we shall keep it confidential”.
Mr Kumpe Gbele, who spoke on the topic: “Preventing violent extremism in Ghana”, repeated the mantra, “If you see something, say something by reporting strange characters that you see around your communities”.
He mentioned some strange people as individuals in the neighbourhood who appear looking for help and vulnerable and those who disguise themselves.
He urged the citizenry to continue to trust the Police by volunteering information timeously.
He said, “Recently, the Police don’t wait for the citizens to come to the station when a problem arises but have now adopted the approach and begun visiting communities to share their security challenges and help them before they become bigger issues”.
“In that vein, when you see the Police in your communities, share your concerns with them by being bold to approach them rather than retreating because they are there to help you”, he said.
The Police commander urged the chief to bring the `fulbe` community living in their communities closer to their places of abode to promote easier integration with the rest of the community.
“Don’t allow the Fulbes to stay alone and far apart from the community, keep them close, so you can all check each other’s activities”, he advised.
Naa Abu Moro, the Regional Programme Manager of the National Commission for Civic Education said the Police community dialogue was created to give a platform to promote mutual trust, understanding, and cooperation as this could engender inclusive community relations. “Let’s keep confidence in the police to protect us”, he advised.
Mr Hussein Elyasu, the Sissala East Municipal Director of the NCCE indicated that the programme was being undertaken with sponsorship from the European Union, Preventing and containing violent extremism.
He said the world was currently being disturbed by extremist activities and peace could be attained through dialogue since it’s a shared one with mutual understanding.
He underscored the need for communities to negotiate for peace through trade-offs between security, communities and the citizenry.
He encouraged the people to support the security in their quest to maintain peace.
Kuoro Ahmed Hor, the Divisional Chief of Chinchang urged the Police to smile and be friendlier to the population as that could easily make citizens share information with them.
The community expressed happiness about the police patrol team’s random visits to the communities and appealed for more of those snap visits.
GNA