THE caution by the Ghana Police Service to the general public to stay clear of combat zones where violent criminals engage security personnel in open gun battle must be adhered to if we are to win the fight against armed robbery.
The caution is a sequel to the incidents at Ashiaman and the Spintex Road in which residents of those vicinities thronged the streets to see for themselves the shoot-out between the police and armed robbers.
In the end, the criminals had a field day as a result of the crowd that had massed up in the area to witness the police operations.
Professionals as they are, the police had to stop the combat in order to save the lives of innocent citizens.
The Daily Graphic is baffled as to why any person, on hearing gun fire, would, out of curiosity, come within the line of fire, so to speak. But the dangers inherent in such behaviour must be pointed out to the people.
Indeed, the cocking of guns must ordinarily send people running for their lives.
The plea by the police to the public to stay clear of combat zones should be widely amplified by all police establishments to enable members of the public to appreciate the risks they are exposed to during the exchange of gun fire.
We have expressed our concern over the unprofessional conduct of some policemen that culminated in stray bullets killing innocent lives, but it is out of place for the public to disrupt the work of the police, especially during gun battles with armed robbers.
The Daily Graphic is, however, full of praise for the police because in spite of the challenges they face as a result of the rather unfortunate behaviour of a section of the public, they have been on top of their job, as exemplified by their recent fight against armed robbers.
The public should take notice that while we can count on the police to exercise professionalism in the discharge of their duties, the same cannot be said of robbers who, without any regard for human lives, can shoot to kill just for mere material gain.
Therefore, the onus lies on the public to exercise utmost restraint during violent skirmishes in order to protect lives and property.
The Daily Graphic urges members of the public to heed the caution from the police because the hardened criminals might have decided to join the crowd just to escape arrest.
This trick has been exposed by the security forces but members of the public should not consider shoot-outs as movies or fun games to give space to criminals to get away with their nefarious activities.
It is our civic responsibility and duty to help the police to arrest criminals in our society, but we should not at any point obstruct the police in their line of duty.
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