General News of Wednesday, 8 May 2019

Source: starrfm.com.gh

Attack on officers: Police uniform no longer respected – Kwasi Aning

A police officer being attacked by some residents of Amasaman in Accra A police officer being attacked by some residents of Amasaman in Accra

Security analyst Dr. Kwasi Aning has urged officials of the various security agencies especially the police service to do more to build respect in the uniform as it was in the past.

According to him, the seeming rise in citizen attack of officers is partly due to the fact that the populace no longer has regards for the uniform.

The comment comes on the heels of the latest attack on a member of the SWAT team of the police service by some residents of Amasaman in the Greater Accra region.

A video of the incident went viral revealing how angry residents subjected the uniformed policeman to severe beatings leaving him with various degrees of injuries and a swollen face.

In March this year, a commercial bus driver and his conductor also pounced on an officer and beat him to a pulp over a disagreement on road traffic regulations.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Wednesday, Dr. Aning said the police administration must begin to build respect for the job and win back the confidence of the citizenry.

“Right now the uniform is not respected and the institution themselves must do an introspection of the situation on what has brought us here. And how they can move out of such a situation. The demand for performance for effectiveness must also grow within the service.

“Violence against officers by the public is never countenanced. Officers, however, must be determined to build confidence between them and the public”.