Tema, Feb 6, GNA - Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, the acting Inspector General of Police, on Friday appealed to senior police officers to lay emphasis on intelligence gathering to prevent crime. She said intelligence-led policing was the latest trend in the world as it made it possible to nip crimes in the bud and even if they occurred it helped in easy investigation and detection.

Mrs Mills-Robertson was addressing police officers and men of the Tema region at a meeting in Tema as part of a working visit. She said although the Criminal Investigation Department was in charge of this duty, information gathering in support of the intelligence function required the involvement of all police personnel. "To be able to identify and solve problems in areas, there is the need to work in proactive partnership with the communities" she said and stressed the incorporation of community policing in police duties. Mrs Mills-Robertson appealed to Regional and District Commanders to orientate their subordinates to embrace the concept to create a safer environment for all to enable the community to build confidence in them. She expressed worry that the image of the police continued to sink in spite of the efforts made to project it and warned those whose attitude contributed to that to cease forthwith as they would not be spared when caught.

She appealed to senior officers to institute strict supervisory roles over their subordinates. The Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police John Kudalor commended the personnel for their hard work which had contributed to combating crime in the region. He said his men retrieved the AK 47 rifle used in the Madina robbery case and mentioned a number of armed robbery cases that had been foiled. Mr Kudalor said a police Operational Post has been opened at Dawhenya where armed robbers had been operating. The Commander however said the region was faced with logistical constraints such as transportation and accommodation to house new personnel.