Accra, May 22, GNA - Mr Albert Kan -Dapaah, Minister of Interior on Monday said the support of the Police Service was crucial to sustain the gains the nation would make as a result of the massive agenda for wealth creation and job opportunity.

He said it was in this vein that government was relentlessly pursuing efforts to empower the Police, both in training and logistics. Mr Kan-Dapaah said this at the closing of the 16-week International Criminal Investigative Training Programme (ICITAP) organized by the United States Department for Justice for 64 Police personnel in Accra. The personnel, who were taken through an intensive course on Basic Policing Skills, such as "Community Policing, Civil Disorder Management, Tactical Manoeuvres, and Policing in Democratic Society", were awarded a diploma.

The Minister said the job of policing remained one of the hectic and complex professions, especially in democratic societies, hence the need for continuous professional education and training to empower personnel.

He stated that although the Police had a degree of autonomy as individuals, there was the need for them to balance legitimate yet convincing values and rights, maintain public order and demand for effectiveness with protecting human rights. Mr Kan-Dapaah commended the US Government for collaborating with the Police Administration in areas of training, human resource and democracy and advised the participants to impart the skills to other colleagues.

Inspector General of Police, Mr Patrick Acheampong, said training remained a topmost priority for the Police Administration and expressed appreciation to the US Embassy for its support in the area of human development.

He said the US Embassy had been able to sustain its ICITAP since 1998 and had co-sponsored about 600 personnel, adding that the course had been specifically designed to suit Ghanaian conditions of the Service. He noted that the Service had adopted the ICITAP model, and had decided to make it an integral part of the Police Training Syllabus. Ms Pamela Bridgewater, US Ambassador in Ghana pledged the Embassy's continuous support to design training programmes that would serve the specific needs of the country, adding, "This is a testament of the relationship between the Government of Ghana and the USA".

She said the Police should be proud of the role they were playing in ensuring national security and order, and called on Government to continue to empower them.

Ms Bridgewater announced an additional package of a donation of 200 handcuffs to the Police Service.

Superintendent Mina Ayim, leader for the participants, said the course was based not only on theory, but practical skills in policing, teamwork, presentations, that had given them the necessary grounding in general police duties.

She mentioned basic practical police training skills as one of the needs to be considered by the Police Administration to ensure efficiency in the Service. 22 May 06