[ads1]Promotions signify continuity, progress, maturity, pride and prestige. It makes one to feel very satisfied, refreshed and renewed after many years of hardwork and dedication to duty. It makes police officers to feel they are being appreciated and rewarded for their hardworks, commitments, sacrifices and dedications to policing. It overhauls the whole psychological make-up of a police officer and gives him or her a renewed sense of direction to duty.
Promotions serve as a great source of motivation and inspiration for police officers who would want to give their maximum best to enhance the ideals of democratic policing where there is respect for human rights, promotions of law and order, sacrifices and commitments to detection of crimes, apprehension and prosecution of offenders to make our society safer.
Promotions enhance their senses of responsibilities and prepare them psychologically, mentally and physically for leadership positions as one may have gathered a lot of experience as he or she rises through the ranks. Though police service itself seems not to have any effective leadership training courses for its officers, many senior officers particularly those who pose some kind of charismatic drives and are being effective and efficient are those who ground in the “mill” and baked in the “furnace” of policing. Such officers can be trusted with solid leadership.
Promotions also serve as a reminder just like the tickling hour hand of a wall clock which reminds us that time and tides wait for no man so man must make hay whilst the sun shines. Man, unlike the proverbial vulture must build his house before the rains start to come. It reminds you that you will day one leave the police service whether you like it or not so you ought to prepare yourself psychologically and mentally to embrace life after police. It gives signals to an end of a career.
There is more to promotions than mere uniform decorations if they are properly managed and administered but sadly enough, issues about promotions have become a worrying situation in the police which is causing a lot of disaffections, complaints, murmurings, mix-feelings, ill-feelings and serious grieves among police officers generally and senior officers in particular. It’s one that needs an urgent remedy to address it to put smiles on the faces of police officers who are bracing the storm to maintain law and order and to protect lives and properties of the citizenry to make Ghana a peaceful place to live. Only God knows the difficulties police officers are going through to keep the peace for the common man to have his peace of mind in Ghana. It’s a tale of a hunter who does not want to say his story.
Per the current promotions systems and how it is being administered, many senior police officers who could have reached or possibly cross the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police -ACP, and retire on their salaries, may end up retiring at the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (C/Supt) or Superintendent of Police (Supt). This is a very sad and worrying situation for our senior officers particularly those who have few years left to go on retirement but hope to reach the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. It is greatly affecting their output, commitment and sacrifices to policing. Many have resigned to fate since they cannot do anything about their plight but are seriously grieving in their hearts and feel very cheated and unfairly treated.
Unfortunately, this worrying situation which is affecting the economic fortunes and wellbeing of these senior officers with whom some are working in very deplorable conditions just to meet the objectives Ghana Police Service is not going to be resolved anytime soon. In fact, the problem is rather compounding considering how promotions of senior officers are being handled and it is very sad. I am very sure in few years to come, senior officers may remain in one rank for 10 or more years before they may be promoted to their next rank. Interesting times ahead as far as senior police officers promotions are concerned.
One may ask how did we have our whole promotion systems particularly that of our senior officers messed up and jammed up like this? How did we get here in an era where administrative efficiency and effectiveness should be the ultimate goal to pursue particularly when we are professing and proclaiming to make Ghana Police Service the very best in Africa and among 10 best police organizations in the whole world by 2024? I am just hoping that to make Ghana Police Service a world class one by 2024 is just not a mere rhetoric but one that is feasible and achievable when one looks at our promotion systems.
Not too long ago when we joined the police service, the maximum years a senior officer stays in a rank is three or four years. At most four years, he or she is promoted to the next rank. Compared to the junior ranks, senior officers seemed to have an effective and efficient promotion system that made them to rise through the ranks very fast. This made many senior police officers to plan their retirement accurately and targeted the ranks they are likely to reach before they would gracefully bow out of this noble profession. Is the situation the same now? CAPITAL NO! All of sudden everything just messed up jammed up and became very stagnant, nothing moves. These days senior officers can remain in one rank for 6 to 7 years before they are eventually promoted. How and why?
One would have expected that going forward into this globalized and modernised world where knowledge coupled with technology exist in abundance compared to the days of Captain Glover, challenges surrounding promotions of senior officers would have been resolved easily but it is rather getting worst. You know why? No one plans in the police service. People do not care about the future of others in the police service once they have been able to take advantage of the system and rise to the peak. When they rise to the very top of the police service, they begin to close all the doors and windows of opportunities they passed through to reach where they are now, and remove the same ladder they used to climb to the top.
Not too long ago, one could join the police service from recruit levels, rise through the ranks to become Commissioners of Police (COP) and possibly IGPs but today, it is not the same anymore. A career progression chances that was able to produce some of the very solid and finest police officers in this country has suddenly been closed whereas others used it to climb up the ladder and they are now Chief Superintendents of Police -C/Supts, Assistant Commissioner of Police -ACPs, Deputy Commissioner of Police-DCOPs and even Commissioners of Police -COPs
I think this is very simple logic. Already there are no vacancies to promote existing personnel so why the continuous admission of more people to police college to churn out more senior officers? This should suggest to you that it is not necessarily about vacancies because the police college in these present times should be able to churn out thousands of senior police officers in batches and not the paltry 100 or 150 cadet officers who pass out as it is currently doing. Their agenda and concentration has always been recruitment but not to plan promotions once they have recruited them.
Senior officers are stuck in their ranks for 7 or more years under the guise that there are no vacancies but ironically, more people are being admitted to police college every now and then to also graduate and become senior officers even though there are no vacancies. It’s really funny at times. We are just unlucky generation who came to meet leaders who are closing the same doors and windows they pass through to reach where they. The doors and windows are being shut in our face yet we cannot complain.
Many senior police officers feel frustrated and are seriously grieving in their hearts but they just can’t talk.
They are dying deep inside.
It’s sad!
Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III
dkwofie17@gmail.com
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