Tema, Jan 14, GNA - The Tema Regional Police Command in 2008 recorded a total of 24,704 criminal cases, showing a slight decrease over the 26,722 cases recorded in 2007. Assault, stealing, fraud by false pretence, and threat of harm were the top four cases recorded in the year, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Joshua Dogbeda, Tema Regional Crime Officer disclosed to the Ghana News Agency in Tema in an interview on Wednesday. Statistics made available to the GNA by ACP Dogbeda and confirmed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) John Kudalor, Tema Regional Police Commander indicated that 24,350 out of the total were marked as true cases.

The Crime Officer said 2,461 of the cases were sent to the courts for prosecution, where 914 were convicted to fines and imprisonment, and nine were acquitted and discharged. He added that a total of 9,760 assaults, 6,798 stealing, 1,654 frauds, and 1,330 threat of harm were recorded over the period. A total of 253 defilements, 322 robberies, 17 murders, three suicides and one attempted murder were reported to the various police stations in the region in 2008. The region covers the Tema metropolis, Ashaiman municipality, Dangme East and Dangme West districts. ACP Dogbeda said the robbery cases covered industrial, domestic, residential, highway and car snatching.

He noted that car snatching cases formed 65 percent of the total robbery cases, explaining that some taxi drivers in a quest to cheat car owners and spare drivers falsely report the snatching of their cars only for the vehicle to be found parked somewhere. DCOP Kudalor commended traditional leaders and opinion leaders in the region for supporting the command to apprehend criminals through the volunteering of information to the police. He called on district officers to recommend the formation of watchdog committees to residents to further help reduce the crime rate in the region, stressing on the intensification of its swoops and patrols in the region this year. The Tema Regional Commander also noted that the mandating of courts in the region by the Attorney General and the Chief Justice also helped in the speeding up of processes in handling of violence cases.