SIAKON MEDIA

Friday, October 09, 2009 06:44:37 PM

Training for the Police very urgent, says ACP Wiredu

By Akwasi Fredua

ACP Dr Peter Wiredu, Director of Administration, Ghana Police Service, has observed an urgent need for the Police Service to constantly train its rank and file in the principles and practice of democratic policing.

Such training programmes, he said, will among others, inculcate in police officers the requisite professional attitudes and practices based on a heightened consciousness about the promotion and protection of individual human rights and freedoms.

"The current Police Administration strongly believes that the incidence of naked brutalities which some Police personnel sometimes mete out to arrested persons in their custody will be eradicated or at least reduced to the barest minimum once Police personnel are given appropriate training in the principles and techniques of democratic policing" he stated.

He made these statements at a human rights awareness forum on the theme; "The rights of arrested persons in Ghana." The forum came off at the University of Ghana, Legon recently.

According to him, the police and other law enforcement officials who exercise some powers of arrest frequently come under a barrage of attacks and criticism as a result of reports or complaints of alleged blatant violations of individual rights and fundamental freedoms.

However, he said the rights of arrested persons are essentially protected under Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Article 14(2) provides that: "A person who is arrested, restricted or detained shall be informed immediately, in language that he understands, of the reasons for his arrest, restriction or detention and of his right to a lawyer of his choice.

Article 14(3) also stipulates that "A person who is arrested, restricted or detained for the purpose of (a) bringing him before a court in execution of an order of a court; or
(b) upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed or being about to commit a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana, and who is not released, shall be brought before a court within forty eight hours after the arrest, restriction or detention.

Also of significant import in this regard is Article14 (4) which provides that:
"(a) where a person arrested, restricted or detained is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him, he shall be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular, conditions reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears at a later date for trial or for proceedings as preliminary to trial."

ACP Dr Wiredu acknowledged that in the discharge of statutory functions, every single action that the police officer takes, either of commission or omission can have far reaching implications or consequences on the liberty of citizens with whom he deals. These, he maintained, can either be adverse or positive.

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act30), a police officer can arrest without a warrant under many circumstances, including when an offence is committed in his/her presence; when he/she is obstructed in the discharge of his/her duties; or if he finds any person carrying tools/implements intended for use in burglary.

According to the Director General of Administration, arrest, which is the physical restraint of a man's person or liberty, is of crucial concern in discussing the exercise of police powers vis-a vis the protection or abuse of individual freedoms.

This he said is so because a person is deprived of his basic liberty as soon as his person is restrained, even though other variants of technical arrest, such as what is normally termed as house arrest may not necessarily entail a person's physical or bodily restraint.

The police has made strides in its bid to ensure a friendly relationship with members of the general public. Dr Wiredu said, "The Ghana Police is today more rights friendly than ever before.

The service is committed to playing its appropriate role as rights conscious law enforcement in Ghana's fast developing constitutional democratic governance including the Police."

Nana Oye Lithur, a human rights advocate, said the law makes provision for legal aid to be given to those who can prove that they do not have the financial means to obtain legal services.

Besides, a person is entitled to legal aid if he earns the government minimum wage or below and desires legal representation in any criminal matter, or civil matter relating to landlord and tenant, insurance, inheritance, maintenance of children and other such civil matters prescribed by Parliament.
Legal aid, Nana Lithur explained, is a free help consisting of representation by a lawyer and including assistance in preliminary or incidental matters to any proceedings in a court or tribunal.

She therefore called on the government to provide more resources towards legal aid since lawyers who provide legal aid are not paid much by the government.

According to Mina Mensah, Project Officer, Police Accountability Project of CHRI, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office firmly believes that an informed and educated public is well equipped to demand respect, protection, promotion and fulfillment of their rights from the State and its agents.

She emphasized that an informed and educated civil society would hold its leaders and public officials accountable for infractions of their basic human rights such as liberty and security.

Source: Public Agenda

Emphasize on customer service delivery

By Akwasi Fredua

Dr. Doris Yaa Dartey, a communication expert, has called on public and private institutions to make the provision of excellent customer service their ultimate goal in doing business.

"Woe unto any organization that drives its customers away. The customer is the reason for existing. An organization that ignores its customers will over time cease to exist or at best remain in a sorry condition. It will not thrive. Customer-focus is therefore a must for every organization," she pointed out.

She made these statements at the launch of the British Council Customer Service week celebration, under the theme "Living the brand as the Diamond in the rough" at the British Council Hall in Accra.

According to her, a brand is very much like the diamond in the rough. Their uniqueness, she said, lies in their roughness and priceless worth.

"Diamonds have raw talent. They have raw worth just waiting to be harnessed. The rawness of diamonds and of a brand is the powerful qualities which can be unleashed for profit," she said.

She therefore urged employees of the British Council to live up to the brand of the organization by being innovative; present best practice examples through the creative use of resources, people, technology, and facilities, and be a trend setter for others to follow suit.

Brand must also show in products, she noted. "It is a failure of promise delivery when product quality is sub-standard but the company uses advertising and the mass media to brag about how wonderful it is," she added.

"You cannot separate a company's products from its brand neither can you separate customer service from the company.

The products and the human relationships go hand-in-hand to tell a unified story. After all, a white-washed grave contains a corpse," said Dr. Dartey.

The Managing Director of British Council Ghana, Mr. Moses Anibaba, said brands are a way of summing up what organizations stand for- their essence, identity and spirit.

He explained that brands are the means by which people learn to recognize, and get to know and value what an organization does and the way it goes about it.

He maintained that the British council brand is a culmination of history and ambition, of how we are perceived and how we would like to be seen.

"We would like to publicly reaffirm our brand value of creativity, professionalism, valuing people, mutuality and integrity. And more importantly, test how we are seen and perceived through the eyes of our valued customers" he said.

In her delivery, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the British Council, Diana Yanney said the British Council recognizes the value that customers place on the products and services it provides.

Pupils from the Teshie Cluster of Schools who have benefited from the British Council's "Connecting Classrooms Project" shared their impressions with Public Agenda in an interview.

According to them, the project has given them the opportunity to take responsibility for their own actions, to learn about nature and conservation of the environment, the attitude of keeping promises, and professionalism as a brand of the British Council.

The connecting classrooms project provides cluster groups of three schools with the chance to partner with schools from two different countries in sub- Saharan Africa and the UK. The purpose of the programme is to enable intercultural dialogue and to increase knowledge and understanding of each other's societies.


Source:  Public Agenda