The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. David Asante-Apeatu, has issued a warning that the police will deal ruthlessly with armed robbers terrorizing the lives of commuters within the Asante Mampong Divisional Command.

He said the police was determined to make the highways in that enclave safe for traders and other road users, who had become the vulnerable targets of highwaymen.

The IGP who was speaking at separate meetings with the chiefs and people of Mampong, Ejura and Sekyedumase, said his outfit was going to get tougher on the robbers and make it very uncomfortable for them to continue in those nefarious act

“My office is adopting effective and innovative strategies to combat the menace,” he stressed.

Mr. Asante-Apeatu, was in the area as part of his working visit to selected districts across the country to learn at first hand challenges confronting his men on the ground, in order to address these challenges appropriately.

Accompanied by the Director General in Charge of Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr. George Alex Mensah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mensah Duku, the Ashanti Regional Commander and other senior officers, the IGP made a stop-over at the Mampong Scarp, where he inspected facilities of the police post.

He then addressed personnel at the divisional headquarters, after which he paid courtesy calls on the chiefs of Mampong, Ejura and Sekyedumase to solicit their support in crime combat in the area.

The incessant attacks by armed robbers on highways dominated the concerns of the people who called on the IGP to take swift steps to address the situation.

They blamed the situation on lack of adequate personnel and vehicles to frequently patrol the highways, allowing the robbers to exploit that visible weakness.

Responding to the concerns of the people, Mr. Asante-Apeatu assured them that more personnel would be posted to the various stations within the division in the shortest possible time.

He would also ensure that the personnel were adequately resourced with the provision of vehicles among other things, to enable them tackle the armed robbery menace head-on.

Chief Superintendent Wisdom Lavoe, the Divisional Commander, who also reiterated the lack of personnel and logistics, underlined the need to address the situation expeditiously, to save lives and property of road users.

He said with the establishment of a police post at the Mampong Scarp where activities of the robbers were prevalent, they have turned their attention to the Ejura Scarp and assured the IGP that, they could win the fight only if the needed personnel and logistics were provided.

He advocated the decentralization of the highway patrols, since they were on the grounds and knew all the robbery prone areas, adding that the situation where the patrol teams were deployed from regional and national levels was not helpful.