Sekondi, June 5, GNA - Western Region recorded 21,059 criminal cases in 2010 as against 21,775 cases in 2009, Mr Ransford Moses Ninson, Regional Police Commander, has said.

In an address at the Annual WASSA (get-together) of the Sekondi Division of the Ghana Police Service held on Friday, he said: "This showed a decrease of 716 cases."

Mr Ninson said this was achieved through the dedication and zeal to work coupled with the assistance of other security agencies. He said the region, like other regions, was beset with problems such as chieftaincy disputes, murder cases, eviction of illegal miners from legitimate concessions of mining companies, armed robbery and industrial unrest.

Mr Ninson said road traffic accidents and their resultant fatalities remained a challenge for the Regional Police Command adding that publicity given to road safety did not yield dividends.

He said a total of 853 accident cases were recorded in 2010 as against 730 cases in 2009 and that the number of death through road traffic accidents in 2010 was 178 as against 138 in 2009.

Mr Ninson said a number of road safety campaigns and modern traffic management procedures had been adopted this year to ensure that carnage on the roads were reduced to the barest minimum.

He said these include random snap checks, use of Radar guns and breathalyzers to check over-speeding, drink driving and accidents mainly attributed to human errors.

Mr Ninson said Community Policing, a system of policing which aims at working in partnership with law abiding citizens, is being adopted to further help minimize the spate of crime in the region.

He noted that this year is an action year because the production of oil in commercial quantities would bring in crimes and fraud that were alien to the region.

He said the Ivorian refugee situation was having a telling effect on the manpower of the Regional Command and policemen had to re-double their efforts to ensure law and order.