RIDDING SOCIETY OF CRIME (JAN 14, 2010)

THE activities of criminals have always created a sense of insecurity in any society.
This was the situation the criminals nearly created in the country some time last year when, on a daily basis, armed robbers terrorised business operators and individuals whom they robbed of their valuables.
Thankfully, the police and other security agencies took the fight to the criminals and managed to smoke many of them out of their hideouts.
The professionalism of our police and other security personnel has never been in doubt. A section of society is normally sceptical, not cynical, about the willingness and the capacity of the security agencies to make our society largely free of the activities of miscreants.
Majority of the public have always co-operated with the police to combat crime, except that sometimes scepticism sets in this collaboration because of the betrayal of the public trust by some policemen and women.
The activities of these bad lots are the exception rather than the norm, as the police have always responded swiftly to deal with distressed calls from people who are under attack by criminals.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is, therefore, encouraged by the determination of the Police Administration to reduce violent crime by 20 per cent this year, with special focus on armed robbery and drug trafficking.
It is our wish that the agenda of the police to fight crime yields positive results because the activities of drug traffickers and armed robbers nearly dented the reputation of Ghana among the comity of nations.
We are happy that the statistics indicate that these violent crimes are on the decline and the trend, if sustained, will lead us to the ‘good old days’ when our society was not associated with armed robbers and drug traffickers.
Even the sceptics cannot contest the assertion by Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), that the crime situation is largely under control, especially armed robbery that caused havoc and concern among the populace.
It is also essential for the people to take note of the expectations of the IGP that “what is expected of us is to consider our role as stakeholders to collectively fight crime, reduce criminality, provide justice for all and ensure the transformation and reformation of the miscreants so that they can revert to society reformed and changed to help with the economic development of communities and the country at large”.
It is common knowledge that some convicts are released from our prisons to become hardened criminals and they pose more challenges to society.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks our penal system requires reforms in order to attain a crime-free society.
Our criminal justice system should not only be retributive but also provide the opportunity for criminals to reform so that they can become useful citizens.
We may not be doing ourselves any good if majority of prisoners return from the prisons to become hardened criminals, instead of personalities who have learnt their lessons and are resolved to contribute more to the development of the country.
It is said that the level of crime is a reflection of the type of society that we have, but that assertion does not have the force of the argument because the deviants are always in the minority who do not want to conform with the norms of society.
The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the police and other security agencies to step up their fight against criminals so that the majority of law-abiding citizens can go about their endeavours in a very secure environment.