There is discrimination in the police force worldwide
The Police are law enforcement force, responsible for keeping public order. Their activities include apprehension of those who don’t want to abide by the law.
As a matter of fact, citizens of every nation depend on the police for protection and the guarantee for a safe and crime-free neighborhood. In the pursuit of peace and the fight against crime, the police sometimes meet their untimely death.
In Africa, especially Nigeria, hundreds of police officers have been killed by armed robbers and thieves. Ghana was once a peaceful country, although petty crimes are reported daily but not armed robbery.
But now armed robbery has been exported to Ghana by Nigerians and this has given employment to hard criminals in Ghana. For example, every Nigerian armed robbery gang arrested in Ghana has a Ghanaian accomplice.
Some of the arrested armed robbers are in possession of police uniforms. No one is accusing the police of selling its uniform to armed gangs but the question is “how do armed robbers get police uniforms?”
It takes a million people and precious time to build a good reputation but it takes less than a second for one person to destroy all the good work that has been built.
In fact, the head of the Ghana police force has a greater deal of responsibility on his shoulders to eliminate all those criminals in uniform within the police force. There are a lot of corrupt officers within the police force.
It is a very serious matter that something must be done. There are some officers in the police force that are tarnishing the image of the force because they joined it not to protect citizens against crime but to wear the uniform to make money through robbery and other illegal means.
On Tuesday, August 7, 2007, the Daily Graphic carried front-page news about three arrested police officers, for allegedly taking $24,000 from a suspected cocaine dealer.
According to the story, the three men from the Mobile Force Unit of the Ghana Police Service have been placed in custody. This is a very serious matter and a disgrace to the Ghana police force. How could police officers commit such a crime?
This is not the first time a story involving the police in criminal activities has appeared in the daily papers. Another question that needs an answer is “why do police officers indulge in criminal activities?
Is it poverty or are they underpaid? It is a fact that the job of the police is a very frustrating one, one that unfortunately many people don’t respect but that doesn’t mean they have to turn against people they have to protect.
Some people think that giving the police full discretion and freedom from legal actions would help. That is not true. According to investigations taking away, accountability will make the police worse than criminals.
It is, therefore, a good part of the Ghana police force, to let any member who broke the law pay for his crime, as they are presently doing. Most Ghanaians have lost total confidence in the police because of many reasons.
For example, the police are nowhere to be found when a crime is going on and when they are called, they come when the crime has already taken place. In advanced countries, it is a big success for the police when criminals leave behind any exhibit during operation.
Because that retrieved object during investigations could lead to the arrest of the criminals by means of forensic, DNA or fingerprint tests. But in Africa, criminals are never apprehended when they leave behind an exhibit.
Many people refrain from reporting to the police their problems because some have to extort money from the victim before investigating their case or make an arrest. These are some of the issues that need proper attention.
To prevent crime in society, people should give respect to the police and work with them. Because a lack of respect for the police prevents them to fully serve a community. This is very common in Europe where a lot of foreigners are living.
Due to racism, there is the indifference of police service where immigrants are. One thing also individuals must understand is that the police cannot be everywhere at once to apprehend a thief or fight against an armed robber.
As long as there are human beings, crime could occur. Therefore in order to help the police to prevent crime, people should look out for each other and always inform the police immediately when you see someone acting suspiciously.