Under the new model for Community Policing Assistance (CPA) one thousand, two hundred and eighty eight (1288) community police assistance are to be deployed to the Western Region alone to assist at least two regular police officers in the various electoral areas to combat crime.
The Community Policing Assistance (CPA) programme according to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCOP Akuriba Yaagy has been in existence since 2006 but has just been restructured to make the community policing assistances effective and efficient to the Ghana Police Service. “Because it’s was not well structured, that is why you cloud see them playing different rolls in the service”.
This model which will be operational in all 6000 electoral areas in the country will see these community police assistance working with two regular police officers in the communities with assembly members as well.
DCOP Akuriba Yaagy told Beach News that the Ghana Police Service in their initial requisition to the National Youth Employment Authority (NYEA), had asked for 36000 community policing assistance to be employed for them but the NYEA could only afford 15000 CPA’s and they have already trained 3,000 who passed out last two weeks and will start work on the 1st of December 2017.
DCOP Yaagy, has however pleaded with the police officers not to give out their informants since the police thrives on information and these community police assistances are going to help the police officers in their intelligence gathering.
“We should guard jealously the information they give us since they leave in those communities within which they will be working from”.
Meanwhile Alhaji Ibrahim Bashiru who is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Youth Employment Agency, in charge of operation has cautioned the police service not to attempt to dismiss any community policing assistant for they do not have the power to do so.
Speaking to BEACH FM’s Kojo Ennimil Arthur, Alhaji Ibrahim Bashiru noted, that will be a breach of the MOU signed between the Ghana police Service and the National Youth Employment Authority.
“Under the reforms, the CPA’s falls directly under the NYEA so if it becomes necessary the police cannot work with any one of them, they should write to the NYEA spelling out clearly why and they (NYEA) will then dismiss that person”.
The new Community Policing Assistance concept is to ensure that communities policing assistance are trained in communication and observation skills, intelligence gathering and basic police duties in order to enable them interact effectively and be accessible to members of their electoral areas who need their assistance.
The MOU to see this policy rolled out was signed between the Ghana Police Service and the National Youth Employment Authority (NYEA) in July 2017 at the police headquarters in Accra.
By: Kojo Ennimil Arthur/beachfmonline.com
