The Director of Security and Researcher with the African Center for Peace Building, Mr. David Banye Jawara has raised serious concerns over comments made by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the mode of operations of the police in trying to apprehend the serial ritual killers who have been causing mayhem in the Upper West regional capital, Wa in the past six (6) months.
In a full-blown interview with him on Maaliyiri, the late afternoon show of Radio Mak, the former security operative is of the view that IGP Dr. Akuffo Dampare erred in revealing the strategies the Police Service is using to apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous crimes.
The IGP during his interaction with traders in the Wa market said they have deployed uniformed men at various locations, some also on motorbikes and others in plain clothes. The IGP further stated that some of the plainclothes security officers are carrying out investigations in the market in the guise of being traders.
Mr. David Banye was at a loss as to why the IGP would make such disclosures adding that could make “The criminals will change their modus operandi per the revelations made by the IGP”.
Speaking to the issue of the effectiveness of the Upper West Regional Police Command, he described the Police in Wa as fatigued.
“The police in Wa have lost it, they have run out of energy and ideas” whiles calls for the immediate transfer of police officers who have served in Wa for more than three (3) years.
According to him, “Within the security circles if you work in an area for up to three years you ought to be transferred because you become very used to them and hence unable to discharge your duties dispassionately”. Mr. David Banye Jawara also called on the IGP to establish an effective intelligence unit at the Upper West regional police command.
He opines that if an intelligence unit with competent staff and equipped with modern gadgets were available, the abductions and murders wouldn’t have perpetuated this long. He emphasized that “modern policing is intelligence-driven that’s why they should be able to recruit informants who would be well motivated to fish for credible information for the police”.
The researcher noted that some inward-looking factors which he says hinge on the national governance have a bearing on the crime rate. He noted that the inability of the government to resolve several cases of violence and murders across the country has emboldened criminals as in the case of Wa.
Mr. David Banye Jawara made these comments in line with the visit of the Interior minister and IGP to Wa in order to find a lasting solution to the rampant ritual murders taking place in Wa. In total ten people over the past six months have either been abducted or murdered.
Source: RadioMakGhana.com