By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Aug 04, GNA – A day’s summit to build the capacities of Police officers on combating human trafficking in the country has been held in Tamale.
It was attended by about 20 high ranking Police officers including Divisional, and District Commanders and Crime Officers from the Northern, Savannah and Bono East Regions.
Oorganised by the International Justice Mission, a human trafficking advocacy organisation, it was under the theme: “Strengthening the Criminal Justice System’s Response to Human Trafficking in Ghana”.
Miss Rochelle Lashley, Director of Operations at the International Justice Mission, speaking at the summit, said it was aimed at exposing participants to the work of the International Justice Mission in Ghana regarding combating human trafficking and the management of victims in a trauma-informed manner.
She said the organisation had been operating in the country since 2015 to ensure that laws on human trafficking were enforced, adding that the Ghana Police Service was key partner in achieving its objectives, hence the summit.
Ms Lashley said the organisation had so far trained about 19,000 Police officers, Judges, Magistrates, State Attorneys, and community leaders in building their capacity in combating human trafficking in the country.
Mr Prosper Adogley, Manager, Investigation, Law Enforcement and Development at the International Justice Mission, said trafficked children were often deprived of food, suffered verbal, physical and sexual abuse, emphasising that it was important for all stakeholders to join forces in fighting human trafficking in the country.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Theodore Hlormenu, Deputy Northern Regional Police Commander, commended the International Justice Mission for organising the summit, and called on members of the public to complement the efforts of the security agencies in combating crime and human trafficking.
GNA