POLICE STATIONS, A MUST FOR NEW ESTATES (PAGE 35, DEC 29)

THE Inspector General of Police, Mr Paul Quaye Tawiah, has urged the Greater Accra Regional Security Forum to initiate a legislation that will oblige estate developers to provide police stations and barracks in every new estate community they establish.
He explained that the provision of these facilities would help the police to ensure security and law and order in the communities.
The IGP was addressing the maiden session of the Greater Accra Regional Security Forum in Tema to plan and tackle security threats confronting various localities and the region as a whole.
He said the time had come for the district assemblies to allocate resources to provide the facilities to already established communities which did not have police presence.
Mr Tawiah noted that organised and serious crimes in their various forms were still being recorded, although the rate had decreased considerably.
Highlighting some statistics on armed robbery, he said in 2008, the Accra/Tema police regions recorded 850 robberies and in 2009 a comparatively lesser number of 513 robbery cases were recorded.
Mr Tawiah said at the same time a total of 335 suspected armed robbers were arrested in the region whilst a few others died during confrontation with the police.
He stated that a total of 133 firearms were seized from these suspected armed robbers.
The Inspector General said the police and the assemblies had inter-related challenges, adding that “the very problems that hamper the success and development of the assemblies equally render policing strategies ineffective”.
He expressed concern about the activities of squatters and land guards, explaining that several criminal activities were planned and perpetrated by these groups.
The Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, said the fight against the narcotics menace at the global level continued to be a major challenge.
He noted that as a result, the government had adopted strategies to seriously combat the menace and these were yielding positive results.
Nii Armah Ashietey said the government would continue to implement the intelligence acquisition analysis and application strategies, and the informant system and deepen police presence through massive and intensive day and night patrols, among others.
The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Robert Kempes Ofosuware, who played host to the forum, enumerated some phenomenal threats and danger to security in the metropolis.
He said the high incidence of armed robbery, theft and physical assault, prostitution, narcotic drug business and drug abuse, menace of land guards and sex tourism were some of the dangers to security in the area.
The forum was attended by Service Commanders, National Security Co-ordinators, Service Personnel, Police and Military and all stakeholders concerned with security.