Accra, May 28, GNA – The “Programme to Build and Strengthen the Police Structures in Selected Partner Countries in Africa” has commenced with a two-day planning workshop in Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The Programme is being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office, together with the Ghana Police Service (GPS).
The planning workshop brings together members of the programme’s steering committee and technical working groups to assess progress achieved during the first year of implementation and jointly plan for the year ahead.
Mr James Oppong Boanuh, the Inspector-General of Police, who opened the event said the high-level participation at the workshop, and the collaboration between GPS and GIZ demonstrated the seriousness of the Police not to only plan but also implement the Police Programme together.
He said “we held a national Police Commanders conference last week at the Royal Senchi Hotel and Resort on the theme, “the role of leadership in preventing violent crimes and promoting community safety.”
The IGP said the theme underpinned the role leadership played in the quest to prevent violent crimes and make the communities safe.
It also demonstrated their determination to make the communities safe to promote economic development and improved livelihood.
He said by developing and grooming leaders through improved training system, ensuring Police accountability and fostering partnerships with the community Policing strategy, “we will reach a desired end state.”
Mr Boanuh said the programme objective appropriately aligned with the theme for the conference and that he had no doubt that at the end of the deliberations, concrete deliverables would be produced for the mutual benefit of both GIZ and the Ghana Police Service.
Mr. Christoph Retzlaff, the German Ambassador to Ghana, emphasised Germany’s firm conviction that there could be no development without security and described the Police Programme as Germany’s newest building block of its support to peace and security in Ghana.
Beside the Police Programme, Mr Retzlaff said the German government also supported the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and appointed an advisory group from the German Federal Armed Forces to cooperate with Ghana’s military to enhance security.
Amongst other things, the GIZ implemented Police Programme supports, international police training standards by developing an implementation strategy with the GPS for the already conducted training and curriculum review, designing GPS training for promoted inspectors, and equipping two IT-classrooms and Strengthening police accountability through trainings for police officers at the Police Professional Standard Bureau (PPSB).
Others were the enhancement of related police PR measures, and the digitalisation of the complaints management for police misconduct.
The programme also fostered the GPS’ strategic approach on Community Policing and its implementation, including; the enabling of officers on the ground by providing public address systems, projectors, screens and laptops for community policing measures.
GNA