The Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwaku Boadu-Peprah, has admonished personnel of the service to avoid open support towards any political party in the country.
According to him, the personnel are to show affection towards any political party only when casting their votes in the polling booth.
He said this while addressing the personnel after they had embarked on a “Confidence March” through the principal streets of Accra yesterday, as a warm-up or preparation towards the December 7 elections.
“As a policeman, you are not supposed to involve yourself in any political activity. You can only do that when you enter the polling booth. There you can exercise your power. Apart from that, you are not supposed to indicate that this man is going to win. I support Mr A or I support Mr B.
“Whether you support A or you support B, at the end of the month it is only your salary that you are going to collect. So we should not involve ourselves in anything. When it is time for election, we are just going out there to discharge our duty, and at the end of it, as to who comes into power is none of our business. We support the government of the day.”
He repeatedly advised the personnel not take sides, but their interest and focus should be in providing security for the elections to go on.
He warned that any policeman who will involve himself in any political activity would have himself to be blamed.
DCOP Boadu-Peprah explained the morning exercise as a means to test the fitness of the personnel for the coming elections, adding: “We all know that election 2020 is going to be a tedious role. We are going to stand on our feet for so many hours, and it will not even end there after the voting and counting. We have lots of work to do before the results will be declared.
“So I don’t think that this going to be the first and the last. I believe that getting to the election time, maybe two weeks to the elections, we will go back to test our fitness level.”
To improve police visibility on the day of elections, the Inspector General of Police has given approval for the training of special police.
So far, 1,968 have been trained purposely for the elections, with an additional 2,000 to be trained as well.
DCOP Boadu-Peprah admitted that though the total of number of personnel to be assigned to the December elections was inadequate to man the 33,367 polling stations across the country, the Police Service would be working with other sister security institutions to make up the number.
The Director of Operations elaborated that the police strength should have been at about 50,000 but their current strength is hovering around 35,000 or 37,000.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Afful Boakye Yiadom described the Confidence March as an exercise has shaped the personnel muscles for the upcoming elections.
“We all need energy, to work during the elections. I, therefore, advise all of you to eat well, reduce your sexual rounds [in order] for you to get energy to work well before, during and after the elections,” he urged.
DCOP Yiadom also reprimanded the personnel against what he described as “loose talk”, stressing that they were not politicians or public servants, hence they should “not go and stand somewhere and say Kwadwo Mensah will win or lose, it is not your work.”
He referred them to Police Service Regulation 2012. Regulation 82(1), TI spells out major punishment for any personnel who gets him/herself involved in political controversies.
“You all know the nature of the major offence, so always be guided by that section and control yourselves,” he stressed.
The police personnel marched from the Ako Adjei Interchange, through 37 Military Hospital, Obasanjo Highway, Kawkudi Roundabout, Accra Girls Senior School, Pig Farm, Kotobabi, Accra New Town, Nima, Kwame Nkrumah interchange, Kojo Thompson Road and Liberation Road.
They ended the march by going through Castle Junction, La Teshie Road, Danquah Circle then to the Police Headquarters.
The post Police can be politically biased only in the polling booth -DCOP Boadu-Peprah appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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