The Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Commissioner of Police (COP) Prosper Kwame Agblor, has said the oil industry in the Western Region had increased crime rate in the region.

He said fraudsters were defrauding people and appealed to the public to be careful of people who approach them with all kinds of mouth-watering promises.

“You should do due diligence when you are approached with juicy contract or job in the oil/gas industry because these confidence tricksters could deceive you and bolt with your money," he told the media on the sidelines of a two-week training for police detectives.

According to him, the criminals had become very sophisticated with the use of technology.

Superintendent of Police Reuben Asiwoko, the Western Regional Crime Officer, said the training programme had come at an opportune time to equip police detectives with requisite skills to deal with the crime wave.

He expressed concern about inadequate Police detectives in the region and suggested an increase in the number to face the challenges ahead.

Topics that would be treated at the workshop include basic investigative skills, interrogation and interviews, identification methods and criminal laws.

The rest were report writing and communication skills, arrest, detention and searches, preparation of dockets, surveillance, human rights and crime scene management.