By DCOP David Senanu Eklu (Rtd)
Accra, Oct. 4, GNA – In Part One, the feature examined what recent police breakthroughs revealed about the security environment, including the importance of lighting, visibility, access control and surveillance in making places less attractive to criminals.
Part Two looks at how those breakthroughs offer practical lessons in crime prevention.
The recent arrests by the police , apart from attracting public praise, serve as a reminder of the need to continually re-examine the country’s security environment.
This should include attention to lighting systems, visibility, access control and surveillance, among other security measures, to make places and communities less attractive to criminals, who have become increasingly daring and sophisticated.
The seven cases announced by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Tetteh Yohuno, show that crime prevention is also about people, routines and information.
Beyond the arrests, each case provides practical lessons for individuals, businesses and communities.
Leaving the bank: Break the predictability
One of the cases involved a suspected syndicate that allegedly monitored bank customers, followed selected targets and attacked them after they had withdrawn money.
The preventive lesson is straightforward: security should extend beyond the banking hall.
Where possible, businesses and individuals should reduce large cash movements and use safer electronic alternatives. Where substantial cash must be moved, routines that make the day, time, vehicle or person carrying the money predictable should be avoided.
Before leaving a bank, customers should observe their surroundings. Anyone who suspects that they are being followed should not drive directly home or confront the suspected persons. Instead, they should move towards a safe, populated location and seek Police assistance.
Banks can also extend security awareness beyond their premises by helping customers understand the risks associated with large cash withdrawals.
Markets, MoMo and gold: Protect the routine
The Buipe Cattle Market case reportedly involved people carrying substantial sums of money, while other operations concerned attacks on MoMo operators, gold buyers and mining communities.
These activities naturally involve cash and valuables. The lesson is not that people should stop doing business, but that predictable routines can provide useful intelligence to criminals.
Businesses should periodically ask simple questions: Who knows when cash moves? Who knows where it is kept? Is the same person always carrying it? Is the same route or vehicle repeatedly used? Can outsiders observe these routines?
Small changes in procedures, stronger access controls and better communication among traders and security personnel can help reduce opportunities for crime without disrupting legitimate business.
Highway robbery: Notice what does not fit
The Enyiresi-Sekyere highway case offers another important lesson.
Police investigations reportedly identified not only suspected robbers but also an alleged weapons supplier and a 14-year-old who served as a lookout.
The case suggests that preparations for crime may sometimes be visible before the crime itself.
A person repeatedly observing a location, unusual activity around a normally quiet stretch of road, suspicious movement of weapons or behaviour that appears out of place may warrant attention.
The safest response is not confrontation. People should observe, remember useful details and report suspicious activity to the Police.
At home and at work: Trust needs safeguards
The investigation into the deaths of Dr Jesse Amuah and his wife, Elizabeth, is particularly sobering. The Police said the suspect had worked as an errand boy for the couple.
The circumstances also recall another disturbing case reported in May 2025 involving Professor Koku Mawuadem Amedeker, a physicist and senior academic at the University of Education, Winneba, who was reported missing and later found dead and buried near his residence.
The Police arrested Joshua Karry Arthur at the residence and reported recovering several items belonging to the deceased, including phones, a laptop, television and a vehicle key. The case is now before the courts.
The two cases are different and should not be treated as identical. Together, however, they highlight a security issue that households and organisations sometimes overlook: people with legitimate access to homes or workplaces may acquire knowledge of routines, movements, valuables and vulnerabilities.
This does not mean treating domestic workers, gardeners, drivers, errand workers or other employees with suspicion. The overwhelming majority perform their duties honestly. The lesson is about maintaining reasonable safeguards around trust.
Households and organisations should verify identities and references where appropriate, keep accurate records of people given regular access, clearly define restricted areas and information, secure valuables and sensitive documents, and review access when employment or responsibilities change.
Family members should also know basic details about people who regularly work in the home and whom to contact if something unusual occurs.
Trust is important, but good security does not require blind trust. It requires sensible verification, appropriate boundaries and awareness of changing behaviour or circumstances.
Illegal weapons: Communities may see the first sign
The recovery of AK-47 rifles, pistols, ammunition and other weapons during the operations raises a wider community question.
Illegal weapons do not exist in isolation. They have to be obtained, moved, concealed and, in some cases, supplied to others.
Someone may notice something and provide information
That is where the public becomes an important partner in prevention.
The IGP recognised this partnership when he commended members of the public for providing credible and timely information that led to the successful operations.
He assured citizens that information provided to the Police would be treated with strict confidentiality.
His message to criminals was equally clear: “No matter where you run, no matter where you hide, we will come for you.”
That is a clear law-enforcement message. But alongside it is a preventive one.
Police intelligence becomes stronger when citizens notice warning signs early.
Businesses become safer when they review their routines before criminals exploit them.
Communities become more resilient when suspicious activity is reported rather than ignored.
The recent breakthroughs, therefore, offer reassurance, but also an invitation to participate.
Prevention is everyone’s responsibility
The Police can pursue and arrest offenders, but arrests alone cannot create a secure society.
Security begins long before a crime is committed. It begins when a bank customer notices that someone may be following them; when a business changes a predictable cash-handling routine; when a household reviews who has access to its premises; when a community reports suspicious activity; and when citizens provide credible information before a crime occurs.
The recent police breakthroughs demonstrate the value of intelligence-led policing, but they also show that the strongest security system is one in which the police and the public work together.
Citizens do not have to become investigators, confront suspected criminals or put themselves at risk. Their role is simpler and equally important: remain observant, reduce avoidable vulnerabilities, report credible concerns and allow the Police to do the investigating.
Crime prevention, therefore, is not only about catching criminals after they strike. It is about denying them the opportunity to strike in the first place.
See the signs. Reduce the opportunity. Share credible information. Act safely.
That is how police breakthroughs can become more than successful arrests. They can become lessons that help communities prevent the next crime.
(DCOP David Senanu Eklu (Rtd) is the Executive Director of MISORNU Safety Centre, a public service NGO, and a former Director-General of Police Public Affairs).
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
4 Oct. 2026
Read Part One here: