The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, has suspended the leave of all police personnel.

He further directed all personnel currently on leave to report for duty by November 15, 2018.

The measures are part of efforts by the Police Administration to beef up security before, during and after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The Central Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Paul Awini, made this known to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the Centre of Awareness (COA) stakeholders’ public lecture on peace in Cape Coast yesterday.

The Centre of Awareness is a non-governmental organisation and medicine manufacturing firm in Ghana.

The meeting, which was attended by personnel from the security services, traditional rulers, religious leaders and the media, was to sensitize stakeholders ahead of a global peace conference in Accra in December this year.

Mr Awini said: “As part of measures to ensure an incident-free Christmas and New Year, we received a directive from the IGP to suspend the leaves of all our personnel across the country”.

Besides, he said, all regional commanders had been asked to formulate strategies that would ensure that security was always ahead of the criminals.

“I can assure you that all Ghanaians will celebrate the Christmas and New Year with less or no criminal activities in the country,” he said.

Police activities

Speaking on the measures put in place, with reference to the Central Region, to enhance security, Mr Awini said the regional command, in collaboration with other security agencies, had been relying on intelligence, swoops, snap checks and crime analysis to contain crime in the region.

“We have decided to take the fight to the criminals. So far, we have impounded 65 unregistered motorbikes and are in the process of investigating their owners,” he stressed.

Global Peace

On the global peace conference, the International President of Global Peace Mission, Dr Samuel Ato Duncan, underscored the need for peace at all times, saying more than $13.3 trillion had been spent in 2015 to keep peace and alleviate poverty across the globe.

“This huge amount of money could be channeled into avenues for human development, hence the need for proper engagement of all stakeholders to ensure global peace,” he said.

He said global peace was about changing one’s mindset, adding, “What we are doing now is a proper solution to global peace. I believe global peace can be achieved.’’