The police have assured residents of Ho that they are capable of tackling the rising crime in the municipality.

The chiefs recently expressed concern about rising incidents of un-solved break-ins, street muggings and robberies over the past nine months and threatened to send their palace guards to supplant the police.

The threat touched off responses that prompted a visit by Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, Inspector General of Police (IGP) to Ho to meet the chiefs, political heads and also address a public forum.

The result is high police visibility in the regional capital.

Next to visit Ho was Mrs Habiba Twumasi-Sarpong, Chief Superintendent of Police in charge Police Visibility at the Police Headquarters, on a three-day duty tour.

“What we (Police) need is your support and partnership to beef up security in the Municipality. We are here today to begin to bridge that gap between us (Police) and we would follow up,” she said at a meeting with the chiefs of Asogli.

Mrs Twumasi-Sarpong said the police needed pre-emptive and reactive information on crime and the criminals since the criminals lived in the communities.

She said the “society joining the police would become larger than the criminal community”.

Togbe Adzie Lakle Howusu XII, Chief of Dome and Warlord of Asogli who led the Asogli chiefs, said the recent lamentation on the rising crime in the area was not tendentious.

He said the chiefs were ready to assist the police to police the municipality and revamp community watch committees.

The police team interacted with groups including commercial road transportation unions, some second and first cycle schools, religious leaders and the Ho Polytechnic community.

At each stop, Mr Alfred Baffour-Awuah, Inspector of Police, at the Police Visibility Unit at the Police Headquarters, said people should make it difficult for criminals to have the opportunity by securing their properties and avoiding dark alleys, shortcuts and isolated areas.

He said while it was important that community members cooperated on issue of security, it was not uncommon for some neighbours to stay completely unmindful of goings-on in their surroundings.

Mr Nicholas Ofosuhene, Superintendent of Police in charge of the Ho Municipality said it was important people were discreetly watchful about movements of people in the neighbourhoods.

“You see somebody perambulating in the area, you fail to take notice and make enquiries and the next thing is that person acting alone or with others is on you with a gun,” he said.