Private Corporate Sponsorship Of The Ghana Police Service – Implications And Ethical Issues (Part 1)

Kwabena Fosu-Mensah looks at the growing appetite of private corporate organisations to sponsor the police force, the ethical issues around such sponsorships and invites the government, parliament, civil society organisations and the wider public to debate on how best to monitor and control this rising trend for the purposes of ensuring the right balance between transparent and effective performance of the core functions of the police service and sponsorship.

Private corporate sponsorship of public institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, the police service and many others started gradually some time ago but is now aggressively taking giant steps in Ghana. Various public schools have benefitted from a range of sponsorship schemes from various corporate organisations. Some of these sponsors have had their names and logos boldly and conspicuously displayed on the items donated. Others have had giant billboards on which their names and logos appear planted at conspicuous points around or within the receiving public institutions. These corporate organisations give some much-needed support to schools and other public institutions in times of need. The striking element however, is that giant billboards carrying the fact of the donation usually stand at the entrance of the schools and that the logo and name of the donor organisations occupy a far greater proportion of the space on the billboards than the schools themselves. That makes one wonder whether these organisations are advertising their products on the back of the schools or providing truly altruistic or charitable service to the schools. As recently as 28 November 2014, Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) commended the Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate team for handing over a newly-built police post to the Police Authority and stated that because of scarce resources and competing needs government is constrained in providing every need of the people hence private and successful people and businesses need to emulate the Lakeside Estate example so the society advances.

This growing practice of accepting private sponsorship within the Police Authority has gone unnoticed and unchallenged for years. The IGP’s statement at the inauguration of the Lakeside police post is a clear and direct confirmation of corporate police solicitation of sponsorship from private organisations. The gesture of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate is neither new nor limited to that firm. This article is therefore not aimed at Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate or any other organisation. It attempts to use the donation of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate as an example to highlight the growing trend and to invite a public debate on their implications, their ethical dimension and the way forward in handling the issue. It is a fact that a well-funded police force benefits everyone and some would argue that as some organisations and private companies could also have interests which naturally correlate with those of the public, they should therefore contribute to the cost of those interests. In support of the IGP’s stand, it might even be argue that such income generation can help forces counter the effects of declining budgets and increasing pressure on resources. Few would argue with the need for collaborative stewardship of this precious resource we call public safety. It is not up to the police department alone to find solutions that will effectively and efficiently resource public security initiatives. With increased input into the activities of the police the public and government share a degree of responsibility for the outcomes of public safety. In the UK for example, partnership is an essential component in police reform which is encouraged through policy and law. As a matter of fact, the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) requires UK police to collaborate with public agencies to promote community safety. Police agencies are also able to raise up to 1% of their budgets through donations. Public-private partnerships have become a catalyst that provides substantial financial benefits to policing but also precariously brings us closer to inappropriate influence by companies that are able to provide funds to the police. This sets up a challenging construct in which communities and businesses incapable of giving the extra sponsorship may not access the same level of police response.

On the other hand, sponsorship is transactional. Companies and individuals provide funding, expertise, equipment or technology in exchange for representation or endorsement of their businesses or products. Irrespective of the dialogue between the parties about intent, rarely is this relationship based on purely altruistic motives. This is the primary distinction between sponsorship and partnership and must be carefully weighed when looking for ways to improve the services delivered to the public.

The author is an ethical governance expert (To be continued)