Accra, Aug. 18, GNA - The Police administration on Thursday assured the public that it was focused to ensure a serene internal security atmosphere which would guarantee protection for people, property and promote economic activities. It reiterated its strongest aversion to any form of crime and assured the citizenry that the police would leave no stone unturned to ensure that perpetrators of violent crimes were dealt with. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), John Kudalor, Director General of Police Operations, gave the assurance at a press briefing on the state of internal security in the country, in Accra on Thursday.

He said the press briefing would be a regular feature to inform the public about the crime situation in the country until the end of the year.

DCOP Kudalor said the discovery and exploration of crude oil and gas in commercial quantities was having a far-reaching effect on the economic fortunes of the country. He said the oil discovery had brought in its wake security challenges due primarily to the potential surge in serious criminal activities such as robbery, narcotic drug trade, cross-border crime, proliferation of arms, money laundering, car-jacking, kidnapping and rape.

DCOP Kudalor said violent crimes particularly armed robbery using unregistered motor bicycles had become endemic in both residential areas and on highways. He said that the influx of nomadic Fulani herdsmen in the country also posed a challenge to the police since some of these herdsmen had been destroying large stretches of farmlands, raping vulnerable women, robbing and murdering people using sophisticated arms as well as unleashing other atrocities on the general public. DCOP Kudalor indicated that the police had intensified its joint patrols with the military in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and other cities to deal mercilessly with criminals and other deviants in society. He said in addition, joint military-police teams have adopted unrelenting crime combat operations to deal with armed robbery and other violent crimes to restore public confidence and sense of insecurity.

DCOP Kudalor said as part of the Police administration's strategy to reduce crime to the barest minimum, security mechanisms had been put in place, resulting in remarkable strides. This includes stepping up regular swoops at crime-prone areas to arrest criminals, recover weapons and other objects used by perpetuators of heinous crimes. Others are embarking on vigorous community Policing by committing both men and material resources into its operations, since reactive Policing is gradually paving way for a proactive policing where crime prevention is shared responsibility between the Police and the community. "Efforts were being put in place to ensure that stakeholders constantly engage through mutual respect, information-sharing and regular education," DCOP Kudalor said. He said the Police administration had instituted financial reward for people who would give reliable information to assist in crime prevention and investigation, adding 93This has undoubtedly been one of the effective tools in crime prevention, and the police will extensively explore it to reap its full benefits." DCOP Kudalor said a police highway patrol unit had been created at the Police Headquarters to deal with highway robberies, and daily patrol teams would ply Cape Coast, Konongo, Anyinam, Aflao, Oda, Asawase roads and the Tema motorway.

He said the patrol teams would also escort commercial vehicles which ply the highways to prevent passengers against highway robbers. "I wish to place on record that the contributions of this unit in curbing robberies on our highways have been overwhelming and tremendous," he said. DCOP Kudalor announced that the Unit had foiled some highway robberies, exchanged gun fire with armed robbers, sometimes leading to fatalities, seizure of large quantities of narcotic drugs, arrest of criminals possessing fake dollars and other crime-related activities. 18 Aug. 11