BRIGADIER (RTD) Francis Asiedu Agyemfra, a security consultant, has suggested that Parliament should grant statutory authority to judges to hold without bail armed robbers both before trial and pending an appeal.

He made this suggestion when he spoke on the topic "Combating armed robbery - what to do" at the Rotary Club of Tema last week.

Brig. Agyemfra acknowledged that in too many jurisdictions there was the case of armed robbers who were sent to prison served only a few months or years and are back to the streets.

Evidence available shows that some judges even grant bail to armed robbers, some of whom are re-arrested for the commission of other robberies while on pre-trial bail, he pointed out.

"This revolving door justice adds significantly to crime and destroys public confidence in the criminal justice systgem," he told his audience.

According to Brig. Agyemfra, law abiding citizens, understandably, are reluctant to inform the police of criminal activities when they know that those arrested will be back on the street.

He advised that since the police are presently thin on the ground the government should encourage the creation of a new relationship between residents' organizations, such as watchdog committees and the police.

Brig. Agyemfra also appealed to the hierarchy of the police to encourage policemen and women to be more friendly and courteous to the citizenry, particularly when they volunteer information about criminal activities to the police, noting "in most cases volunteers have been made to feel that they are suspect!"

He cautioned that the frequency and impunity with which these robberies are carried out, sometimes in broad daylight, has become a source of great worry to all, as the robberies seemed to have put the general public in state of siege and created fear and anxiety with society.

However he noted that the recent declaration of war by the government on armed robbers is a clear manifestation of its commitment to rid this menace which is serious drawback to socio-economic development.

The security consultant stated that the best strategy for fighting crime is the tactic whereby the police work closely with residents, organizations to discourage crimes rather than simply using the police to investigate crimes after they have happened.