POLICE TO IMPOUND UNREGISTERED VEHICLES (PAGE 31)

Henceforth, all unregistered and unlicensed vehicles that ply the roads between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. will be impounded and the drivers prosecuted, ASP Kwesi Ofori, Director of Police Public Affairs, has announced.
He explained that most arrests made in connection with robbery and kidnapping involved unregistered and unlicensed vehicles.
ASP Ofori, who was addressing a press conference in Tema, said during that period, other vehicles would also be checked for suspicious and illegal movements.
He appealed to the media to help fight crime through education and also unearth some of the societal evils that went on the blind side of the police.
ASP Ofori said the media had a very important role to play to ensure that Ghanaians enjoyed peace and freedom to go about their daily responsibilities as law-abiding citizens.
The Tema Region has become a fertile area for robbers, kidnappers and car snatchers but he said the police in Tema have worked tirelessly to trap them down to bring the situation under control, ASP Ofori declared.
He stated that the police had a duty to perform and therefore they would not hesitate to deliver their services within the confines of the law.
He, therefore, appealed to the media and the public to assist the police to close in on the robbers and get rid of them.
Meanwhile, in their determination to check the use of unregistered vehicles to commit crimes, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has also announced that it will vigorously enforce the ban on the use of unregistered vehicles after 6 p.m., reports Enoch Darfah Frimpong from Kumasi.
DCOP K. A. Opare-Addo, who has just assumed duty as the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, told a press conference that unregistered vehicles such as those using “DV” and “DP” number plates posed a lot of security concerns to the police.
”DV” and “DP” number plates are normally issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to garage owners and car dealers.
The “DP” is issued to only assist in transporting a vehicle from the port to the house or a garage and that of the “DV” is used for transporting vehicles to the offices of DVLA for registration and test driving.
It is unlawful to use vehicles with ”DV” and “DP” number plates after 6 p.m. but it is common to see such vehicles plying the streets of Kumasi especially at night.
The commander said some owners of garages might be driving such vehicles to their homes after work but added that his outfit had initiated a series of interactions with operators of various garages in the metropolis to explore common areas of co-operation in the usage of “DV” and “DP” numbers after 6 p.m.
He said his outfit was considering providing owners of garages with ID cards that they would display to save their cars from being impounded at night when they come into contact with the police.
Flanked by the Deputy Regional Police Commander, ACP Kwasi Mensah Duku, who has also just been posted to the region, and the Regional Operations Commander, Chief Superintendent George Mensah, Mr Opare-Addo said his outfit was determined to check robberies in the region to enable the people to have the peace to operate.
He said the crime rate in the region had decreased, explaining that between January and July 2007, a total of 448 robberies were recorded as against 138 recorded in 2008 and urged the public to be security conscious.