Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ransford Ninson, Eastern Regional Commander, has appealed to the public to report any professional misconduct of a police officer to the regional command for appropriate action.
He said the police administration was aware that there were some unscrupulous personnel among them and that it had a policy to weed out all
those miscreants and therefore the public must help in that direction.
DCOP Ninson, who was addressing the media in his maiden encounter with them in Koforidua, said since the police were always in the midst of the
public, it was the public, who could volunteer information to them, for decisive action to be taken to redeem their image.
He, therefore, charged the media to help educate the public that there was channel for redress to report any officer, who misconduct him or herself in the discharge of his or her duty and stop castigating them on air.
The Regional Commander announced that 5,305 criminal cases were reported in the first quarter of the year including 24 robbery, 13 murder
cases, 12 each of abduction and rape, 47 defilement and 49 narcotic cases.
He noted that the figures represented 20 per cent increase on the criminal cases recorded for the first quarter of the year as compared to
last year and that night patrols and the "tent cities" concept would be strengthened to bring down the crime wave.
According to him, the "tent city" concept introduced by his predecessor, DCOP Andoh-Kwofie, significantly impacted on the reduction of
crime wave, adding that he intended to revive it and had requested for new tents to replace the worn out ones.
He said 313 motor accident cases, which were reported in the region in the first quarter was alarming adding that 52 people were killed while many others were injured.
In that direction, the Regional Commander said, the command would detail men on the highways, especially the Eastern portion of the
Accra-Kumasi highway to help reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
He said road checks would be increased on the highways as well as education of both drivers and pedestrians and urged the media to support
them with the education.