Participants of the one-day orientation workshop
PERSONNEL OF the Ghana Police Service have been charged to remain neutral and professional in the discharge of their mandate as poll duty officers during the December 7 elections.
Chief Superintendent Alex Amenyo, Konongo Divisional Police Commander, who made the call, said the officers? conduct, words and actions must be in line with professional police behaviour.
Speaking at a day?s workshop organized for law enforcement officers within the Konongo Divisional Police Command on Wednesday, the police chief said security personnel needed to be fair and firm to guarantee peaceful elections.
He reminded personnel of their responsibilities during the election and challenged them to live above reproach.
The workshop, which was intended to upgrade skills and familiarize personnel towards properly handling the elections, was held at the Divisional Headquarters under the theme ?Improve Working Skills.?
Chief Supt. Amenyo said the police needed to be equipped to deal with any form of violence that might crop up in the face of the high adrenaline of politicians and their activists during the polls.
?We need to sensitize the public and strategize to nip in the bad any form of violence,? the police commander told his audience, adding that the police were prepared to resist the act of ballot box snatching that had become a common feature of the country?s elections.
He advised politicians not to form unauthorized monitoring teams as observers since such bodies had the tendency to foment trouble at polling stations.
The participants gained knowledge in areas such as investigative skills, good customer/client care, democratic/community policing, report writing, weapon handling, communication, victim offender mediation and review of police duty at elections.
Meanwhile, the Asante Akyem Central Election Task Force has agreed to carry out sensitization programmes to ensure peaceful elections in the area.
The decision was taken at a meeting held at the Konongo Divisional Police Headquarters as part of activities lined up to guarantee violent-free polls.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi
