The Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery has commended the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) for helping to reduce kidnapping cases in the Country.
“I hear people trying to make kidnapping, a new phenomenon. It is not new. Ghana for the past eight years recorded 504 kidnapping cases between 2011 and 2019,” he said.
He was addressing Regional, Divisional and District Crime Officers at the opening of a two-day annual conference dubbed “Addressing the challenges of contemporary investigations for effective prosecution; the role of investigators”
Mr. Dery said in 2013, there were 77 reported cases, 2014 had 76 whereas 2018 chalked 58 and 2019 scored 47 so far, noting that effective investigations revealed that 21 of the 2019 cases were false, reducing the number to 26.
The Member of Parliament for Nandom giving the breakdown said Accra recorded six, Ashanti- five, Brong Ahafo- four and two in the Western Regions with 10 out of the suspects standing trial and 17 victims rescued.
He said the CID had to be encouraged for the strides made in its improved performance and urged the officers to come up with a roadmap for criminal investigations.
He said the onus was on government to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills and modern communication tools to enhance their work.
The government is determined to re-tool the entire Police Service to enhance professionalism and improve service delivery, he said.
He said the government was also determined to create a responsive, effective and accountable police service that would work to expectations of all stakeholders.
He urged them not to relent on their responsibilities irrespective of the challenges and be ready to tackle new trends of crimes, head-on as there would be refresher courses to help handle them.
Mr. Dery said crime investigators play a special role in the criminal justice system so they should conduct proper investigations for justice to prevail rather than letting criminals off the hook.
The Minister said though they may be “demonised” in carrying out their duties, they should not give up as they were serving humanity, adding that government would ensure they were all motivated.
They should up their game in the gathering, processing and analysing data as far as criminal investigations were concerned.
He urged them to be innovative and collaborate with those in academia for support in the course of their duty and share their experiences to enrich their work.
Mr James Oppong Boanuh, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) said the officers would take stock of their practices, identify gaps and find best practices going forward.
He pledged to address organised and violent crimes depending on quality detectives and their ability to investigate and prosecute criminal cases.
Commissioner of Police (COP) Mrs Maame Yaa Tiwaah Addo-Danquah, the Director-General for CID asked them to investigate cases to help save innocent persons.
“As part of our commitment to serve Ghana better, we together with the University Of Cape Coast Department Of Forensics have come up with a crime scene training manual as a guide to investigators.”
Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the Director of Public Prosecutions advised the officers to network with other security agencies locally and abroad to make their work easier.
She urged them not to allow the media to coerce them into giving information that would hinder their investigations.
Chief Superintendents of Police Mr Sampson Agbeko and Mr Reynolds Manteaw, the crime officers of Upper East and Upper West, respectively, were recognised and would be presented with laptop computers for their outstanding performance.
The IGP was also presented with a portrait of himself by Peace Watch Ghana for his commitment so far.
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