The Director-General of Welfare of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah has called for a change in Police security strategies to counteract organised crime.

She said the security of the country was threatened by serious organised crimes such as robbery, terrorism, kidnapping, human trafficking, piracy, narcotics trading, murder, money laundering, cyber attacks among others.

"The need to reinvent our security strategies to counteract these threats is now. We need a paradigm shift as a nation to address all security challenges and guarantee the safety and security of the good people of this country."

COP Mrs Addo-Danquah said this when she addressed a passing-out ceremony as the Reviewing Officer of 581 Police recruits at the Police Training School at Pwalugu in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.

She said all hands were needed on deck to achieve the change, insisting that; "We can only consolidate peace and security in the country when there is effective collaboration between Police and the public that it serves."

The Director-General said it had been proven globally that effective security was guaranteed when there is a sense of shared responsibility between the Police and the public.

"The public will only be willing to support the Police in its efforts to maintain law and order when it can fully trust the Police. Collaboration and partnership with the Police can only be guaranteed when the Police act professionally and treat the public with the needed respect and civility," she said.

She noted that the Global Peace Index report compiled and released by the Institute of Economics and Peace on June 11, 2020, ranked Ghana as the third most peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa after Mauritius and Botswana.

"Such a positive global outlook magnifies our country as a peaceful destination for positive investments with its benefits in growth, sustainability, health and education."

She said recent criminal activities perpetrated by a network of criminal gangs had shaken the foundation of our dear country and threatened its peaceful international accolade.

"However, it is important to assure the good people of this country that we members of the Police Service and other security agencies remain unfazed and are determined to deal decisively with the threats posed by these criminals and make Ghana one of the most peaceful countries in the world."

COP Mrs Addo-Danquah advised the recruits to be professional in their career and bear in mind that they would not succeed in their effort to protect lives and property without respecting members of the public.

She urged them not to get carried away by their new status, to engage in acts that would bring shame and dishonour to themselves, their family, the Police Service and Ghana as a whole.

She reminded the new officers of the norms, traditions, values and principles of democratic policing, which thrives on principles of responsiveness, effectiveness and accessibility.