The Police Administration has pledged to deepen engagement with citizens and the media to ensure transparency and trust for efficient operations.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi, said the active participation of the people would enable the police to tackle crime head-on by taking the fight to robbers and law-breakers in various communities in the country.
“And also, galamsey has become an issue that all of us are dealing with and the IGP has made a commitment that he is going to take the fight up.
“As we speak, in our regions where we have some galamsey activities, our regional commanders are working hard to stem the tide,” she added.
ACP Ansah-Akrofi was speaking during a working visit to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday to formally brief the paper of the new direction of the service.
She was accompanied by ASP Richmond Mensah, Staff Officer at the Public Affairs Directorate; ASP Angela Kumi, Officer responsible for External Engagements, and Chief Inspector Gideon Boatse, a Station Officer at the Directorate, among others.
New direction
The director explained further that “we have a new administration, a new Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Christian Tettey Yohunu, who extends his regards to all of you.
“He has a new management team on board and a new direction for the service.
One of the key areas that has been affected in this new vision for the service is our engagement with the general public, the communities we serve,” she said.
The director, however, said that to be able to realise their objectives, they would also need the active support of the media.
“You have been our partners over the years and if our stories will go out, if the public will get to know what we are doing, if our efforts in fighting crime will be heard, we will need you to do so.
“I think over the years the administration adopted a different approach to our communication and media strategy.
“Over time, we received a lot of feedback from the general public, from our stakeholders, from the media.
And it is based on those feedback that we have shaped our vision going forward by engaging you directly.
“The IGP’s instruction is clear. Get to the people you serve, take policing closer to them, let them understand what you do, let them see what you are doing, talk to them and bring on board the media, because without them we cannot go far,” she said.
The Editor, Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, said his outfit has had good relations with the police over the years.
“We are happy to welcome you here. Graphic is not only the leading newspaper in the country but also the most credible, and will be 75 years in October this year.
“So, it tells you that we have managed to reinvent ourselves.
We have managed to make ourselves relevant to our stakeholders, our readers and our audience and everybody. We will be around in perpetuity,” he added.
The Editor pledged to enhance collaboration with the police, saying “we will ensure that we always knock on your doors.
We will always be calling you for news because that is all that we deal in. We sell information”.