The Builsa North District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Francis Kwasi Amankwah, has called on residents in the district to assist his outfit with vital information to combat crime in the area.

He said residents were reluctant and unwilling to assist the police with information to effectively investigate cases and effect appropriate arrests.

The ASP who cited several incidents in which residents declined to furnish the district command with information, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Sandema that such unpatriotic behaviour affected operations of the Police Service in the district.

He said his outfit was investigating a reported murder case at Kanjarga, in the Builsa South District, but the community members were not willing to assist the police with information to identify and arrest the suspect.

“Getting information is difficult, perpetrators of crime live with them in the communities, community members know them, but they wouldn’t give them out. However, with intelligence and the help of our Community Police Assistants, we are able to track some of them in the communities,” he said.

The commander also expressed concern about the increasing reported cases of abduction of under aged girls within Uwasi, a community in the Builsa South District, saying “things have changed, use the normal and acceptable ways to marry, abduction is against the Children’s Act.”

ASP Amankwah said even though his outfit was working assiduously to ensure crime and violence-free society within his jurisdiction, efforts of the command would be fruitless, if residents were reluctant to render credible and vital information to police officers.

The commander, who oversees both the Builsa North and South districts, disclosed that motorbike thefts, coupled with attitudes of riders within the Sandema and Fumbisi townships were some of the major cases the command dealt with over the years.

“Apart from riding without crash helmets, some of them carry iron rods on their motorbikes, whilst others carry objects that block portions of the road and prevent other road users from accessing the road. Such behaviours could cause accidents,” he said.

He cautioned parents against allowing their under aged children who had no knowledge about road traffic regulations to ride motorbikes, which was a common practice in the two districts, and said the law did not permit such behaviour.

The ASP said plans where underway to use the Builsa community radio at Sandema to raise awareness and educate members of the public on the need to observe safety precautions on the road, especially on market days.

He said the command had over the years intensified both night and day patrols, including monitoring the ongoing voter registration exercise in the district to ensure peace, law and order.