The Ghana Police Service has come under a widespread flak recently, especially in the last two weeks following the infamous killing some youth of Asawase in the Kumasi metropolis suspected to be armed robbers by the Police, contrary to the information by residents of the area that those killed were not armed robbers but law-abiding citizens.
While Ghanaians were yet to get to the bottom of the issue, a video showing how Lance Corporal Frederick Godzi Amanor of the Ghana Police Service mercilessly beat up Madam Patience Sarfo at the Shiashie branch of the Midland Savings and Loans Company went viral, adding salt to injury and further denting the image of the service.
People are at a loss as to how some people find themselves in the Police uniform and also what kind of training at all are given to them before they start work as Policemen and women.
From the comments and reactions pouring in from the public on both the traditional media and social media, one could feel that people are impatiently awaiting the outcome of investigations into these two incidents and how those found culpable would be dealt with.
The primary functions of the Ghana Police Service as specified in Section 1 of the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) states among others that “It shall be the duties of the Police Service to prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders and to maintain public order and safety of persons and properties.”
Beside the core functions of the Police as captured above, Officers and men of the service also render other important services to the public. These include Motor Traffic duties to ensure safety on our roads, Vetting and issuance of Police Criminal check certificates and Assisting and helping the female gender to deal with traumatic and psychological problems as a result of sexual abuse (usually against minors), among others.
As part of measures to redeem its image, the Ghana Police Service is currently pursuing a holistic transformation programme aimed at structural reformation of every stratum of the Service.
This transformational agenda is pivoted on the 13 strategic objectives set by government of Ghana for the Ghana Police Service
To help the Ghana Police Service realise objectives set under its transformation agenda, the College for Community and Organisational Development (CCOD) in Sunyani in partnership with Police administration has assembled all Regional Police Commanders in the country and trained them on Organizational Development (OD) tools which seeks, among others, to build the interest and capacities of the participants in concepts such as emotional intelligence, appreciative leadership, appreciative enquiry, 360 degree feedback and organizational exiting strategies.
Each participant was issued with a certificate in Executive Mastery in Organisational development and Appreciative Leadership (EMODAL), after the two-day training programme.
The training was co-ordinated by the CCOD Consulting Unit with Dr. Gabriel Gbiel Bernakuu as the lead facilitator while Hanns Seidel Foundation sponsored the EMODAL training for the Regional Police Commanders.
At the end of the training, participants were guided to come up with outputs that are capable of effecting positive transformation in the Ghana police service.
The IGP was represented at the programme by James Oppong Boadi who acknowledged that the world was changing so fast that the Ghana Police Service (GPS) needed such a training in order to catch up with the world.
The training programme was primarily aimed at introducing participants to the concept of dynamic team building for effective collaboration and coordination, inculcating in the participants, the concept of appreciative leadership that provides results and also training participants to conduct social investigation using the Action Research and survey model.
Besides, it was to build the capacity of participants in Executive Coaching and Mentorship in organizations also to document the successes and challenges which will serve as a feedback report to the Ghana Police Service, among others.
Feedback from participants
The feedback from the Regional Commanders after the training session was quite encouraging as it demonstrate how impactful the training had been on them.
“…sometimes we offend a lot of people because we fail to know them very well. Even right after this exercise, I have seen the character of almost every officer here. I can therefore relate with them….”, one of the participants said after the programme.
Another Commander also had this to say, “… I have been in this service for the past twenty-five (25) years… and this is my first time of attending such a training programme. The programme is very insightful and can be applied in diverse fields of live including the church, home and workplace. I think the IGP has done so well for introducing this programme…..”
According to Dr. Gabriel Gbiel Bernakuu, plans are underway to rope in other ranks of the Police Service in the EMODAL programme as well as other security agencies to sharpen their skills and also bring them up to speed in modern ways of discharging their duties.
“The EMODAL has come to stay in Africa….we now have EMODAL in the Catholic University College in Sunyani, UDS and other affiliate institutions across the country….”, Dr. Bernakuu added.
(rboahen2018@gmail.com)
