The Doyen Institute of Intelligence and Investigations has held its eleventh graduation ceremony with a call on law enforcement agencies to invest substantially in the training of intelligence officers, needed in the fight against crime.

The ceremony, which conferred professional diplomas on 114 graduands in the areas of intelligence and investigations, was also used to draw attention to the specialized role intelligence and investigations played in the criminal justice system.

The Executive Director, Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace-building, Mr. Adib Saani, observed that “Skills acquisition in the intelligence area is key because it is a prerequisite to improving the general security situation in the country.”

Mr. Saani indicated that the crime rate in Ghana was increasing with local authorities lacking the capacity to fight it, a situation which was indicative of how some high-profile cases remained unresolved. “Lately, criminals have become so emboldened they go after what can best be described as hard targets such as police stations, bullion vans, and even ambulances,” he added.

Mr. Saani also observed that the insecurity challenges in the country was caused by the porous nature of crime investigations in the country and Ghana’s inability to invest in combating crime by making strategic changes to the Ghanaian environment.

In that regard, he suggested that Ghana moved away from the manual investigation regime which did not allow law enforcement officers to link criminals to crimes they had committed at other parts of the country.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, This is where you come in; your ability to conduct professional investigations in the face of limited resources is key,” he informed.

To help combat the challenges evident in the intelligence sector, Mr. Saani said there was the need for a public-private partnership to advance such training regimes for all law enforcement officers throughout the country so they could offer better services to the country.

He appealed to the government to support efforts led by Doyen, by creating a single data base to help in investigations while government also looked at establishing more crime labs in the country.

Mr. Saani also appealed for deeper collaboration between Ghana and other countries within the ECOWAS sub-continent in terms of sharing intelligence, observing that cross border drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, terrorism, and persons running away from justice in their native countries were becoming the order of the day.

The Executive Director of the Institute, Mr. George Dosoo Doyen, in his advice to the graduating class, observed that the fight against crime was getting more advanced with criminals using the latest technologies and techniques to commit crime.

“It is expected that employees, security personnel, and corporations will also use next generations’ technologies and techniques to best respond to the wide variety of complex crimes with a high level of effectiveness and professionalism,” Mr. Doyen said.

He advised the graduating class to deliver high standards as they were called upon to serve their respective countries in order to help in the fight against crime.

Mr. Doyen added that, “There are times you will have to choose between the law and what is right. I am certain that your choice will benefit your country. Remember to pursue integrity, ensure diligence and maintain professionalism at all times.”

Doyen Institute of Intelligence and investigations was established in 2018 to bridge the educational gap in Africa and enhance the skills of law enforcement and intelligence officers’ counter measures when it came to investigations and gathering intelligence.

The institute is also to help develop African solutions to combating crimes in Africa since most security institutions in Africa seek such intelligence training outside the continent.

The graduands were from South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Gabon, USA, Ghana, Liberia. Some of the Ghanaian officers were from the Office of the President, Narcotics Control Commission (NCC), National Security, Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), private individuals organizations.