UNFORTUNATELY, there seems to be an attempt by miscreants in the society to create a sense of insecurity among the populace. These miscreants engage in all kinds of criminal activities, especially armed robbery, to put a sense of fear in the people, including inter-city travellers.
Another craze, very alien to our culture, which is rearing its nasty head in our society, is car-jacking by hardened criminals. This is happening not only on the highways, but also in even our neighbourhoods. These criminals do not only sell the vehicles across the borders, but use the vehicles to commit other crimes.
Indeed, what is happening has given cause to a section of the Ghanaian public to develop the perception that the police are losing the fight against crime but this necessarily may not be so.
When the Inspector General of Police, Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, took over office he pledged to take the fight to the criminals by intensifying night and highway patrols.
The Police/Military operations were also re-introduced all in an attempt to make life uncomfortable for the criminals. The IGP also introduced the concept of Tent Cities in some parts of the country to position the police in the areas where they can readily respond to emergencies or distress calls from residents in those areas.
Not too long ago, it was established that armed robbers could run but could not hide because the police and other security agencies were regularly on their heels engaging them in fierce battles that sometimes led to fatalities on both sides.
The police were not deterred by the apparent sophistication exhibited by armed robbers, who even dared to engage in day-light robbery, including attacks on bullion vans.
In spite of these challenges, the police and other security agencies are not daunted in their efforts to bring the criminals to their knees. Many arrests have been made in recent times, including the latest police operations that led to the retrieval of 21 vehicles suspected to have been seized from their owners by car-snatching syndicates operating in the various parts of the country.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio-Atinga, described the mastermind of the gang, Stephen Aklago, as a notorious car snatcher who had recruited a number of robbers to work for him.
The Daily Graphic commends the police for this latest endeavour leading to the smashing of the car-jacking syndicate operating in Accra, Kumasi, Akim Oda and Akwatia.
Our police personnel have won international recognition anywhere they have been posted to perform security duties and have mounted operations locally to bust criminal gangs to the admiration of many Ghanaians.
The Daily Graphic would like to appeal to the police to remain focussed in their activities. They should not allow negative comments from a section of the public to distract them from their chosen career to maintain law and order in our society.
The government should also continue providing the police with the appropriate logistics to enable them to continue with their fight against crime, particularly on the highways.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also reminds the populace that combating crime is a collective task between the police and the larger society.
We need to be each other’s keeper by forming neighbourhood watch committees to protect lives and property.
The Daily Graphic calls on the police administration to also revamp the concept of Neighbourhood Watch Committees throughout the country to help instil basic security skills in everybody so as to guarantee and sustain a safe environment in the neighbourhoods.
Unless we partner the police in crime combat, there is very little that they can achieve on their own. It is our collective resolve to fight crime.
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