Superintendent Joshua Semenyo, the Senya Bereku District Police Commander
Superintendent Joshua Semenyo, the Senya Bereku District Police Commander, has called for cooperation to reduce crime and ensure peaceful co-existence.
He said there was the need for effective collaboration between Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the Police and citizens.
Superintendent Semenyo said this would ensure the elimination of injustice against vagrants or poor and voiceless citizens in society.
The Commander was speaking at a sensitization workshop on the local Assembly bye-laws held at Senya Breku District Assembly in the central Region.
The sensitization was organized by Crime Check Foundation (CCF) as part of the implementation of the CCF-OSIWA partnership dubbed: “Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws and Advocacy” project.
The project seeks to create an enabling environment for vagrants to know, claim and exercise their rights and responsibilities in Ghana.
It is also to increase public awareness on vagrancy laws and their effects on vagrants in Ghana, increase citizen’s capacity and oversight to monitor vagrancy laws and their effects on the poor and homeless.
The programme brought together officials of the Assembly, the leadership of various informal sector groups, including market women, truck pushers, transport associations, beauticians, hawkers, waste contractors, scrap dealers, the Ghana Federation of Disability, the media, and transport unions, among others.
Mr Semenyo reminded citizens that, working in harmony will ensure that each party become aware of its responsibilities. This, according to him, will help reduce crime, arrests, fines and imprisonments of vagrants who flout bye-laws because of ignorance. “MMDAs, the security agencies especially, the police and citizens must work hand-in-hand to reduce crime. In so doing, fines, arrests and imprisonments of vagrants will reduce drastically.
He assured that, the “job of the police is not to target vagrants but, to prevent crime”.
He however, cautioned that, poor and voiceless citizens should desist from crimes and actions that would contravene the law. He was happy about the CCF-OSIWA intervention, which will increase knowledge of citizens on the local laws.
Participants were excited for the education and promised to take the education to their members.