The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Mr Bernard Dery, said at the weekend that increased collaboration between police personnel in the Region and their counterparts in neighbouring Burkina Faso is essential for combating cross-border crime.

He said incidents such as highway armed robbery, child trafficking, cattle rustling and trade in small arms could be dealt with more effectively if security agencies of the two neighbouring countries put up a united front so the criminals could not use either country as a safe haven.

Mr Dery was speaking at the 2002 Annual "WASSA" get-together of the police command in Bolgatanga.

He said one other issue of concern that calls for joint action was the menace being posed by bulk haulage truck drivers who pass through the Region to neighbouring states in the hinterland.

He said a joint workshop on the traffic situation would soon be held for Ghanaian and Burkinabe police to enable them to maintain safety along the route.

Mr. Dery announced that at the local level, the number of accident cases recorded in the region between January and December 2002 was 148, involving 217 vehicles. The number of deaths was 27, with 186 persons injured. Fines imposed on offending drivers amounted to 76 million cedis.

He said the total number of criminal cases reported to the police in the region between January and December 2002 stood at 549, out of which 352 were convicted by the courts.

The Regional Police Commander cited the establishment of a combined mobile police task force, the elevation of the Police Stations at Zebilla and Sandema to District Police Headquarters status, and the establishment of the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Police Service in the region as some of the important events undertaken by the Police Command during the past year.

He further mentioned the establishment of Police Satellite Stations at Karimenga and Wulugu, Namo and Bolgatanga, Navrongo and Bolgatanga, as well as at Mognori, Kulungugu and Pulimakom along the Ghana-Togo frontier to combat cross-border and highway crimes.

Mr Dery attributed the peaceful atmosphere currently prevailing in the Region to the hard work of security personnel and the co-operation of the local communities.

In a speech made on his behalf by Mr Saaka Dramani, a Deputy Co-ordinating Director at the Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu, urged the Police Command to revamp neighbourhood watch committees in the region to augment the efforts of the regular police in crime prevention.

Mr Salifu cautioned security personnel against drunkenness and other acts of indiscipline. He also warned against the divulging of sensitive information to unauthorised persons, saying that such acts constituted a potential source of conflict and insecurity.

Among those present was a 10-man police delegation from Nahouri Province in neighbouring Burkina Faso.

Mr Bance Alfred, Police Commander in-charge of Nahouri, who led the delegation, said their invitation to the function was a manifestation of the bond of co-operation and good neighbourliness that exists between security personnel in the two countries.

He expressed the determination of the Burkinabe police to work in close collaboration with their Ghanaian counterparts in the combating cross-border crime.