Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, says the use of the word ‘insecurity’ to describe the state of the recent crime surge in the country deviates from Ghana’s reality.
According to her, the supposed sense of insecurity results from an abuse of media privilege by some key personalities who take every opportunity to spread fear and panic in the country.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile Saturday, Sheila Abayie-Buckman, responding to concerns about the recent attacks on citizenry leading to the deaths of at least two police officers, maintained that Ghana is a safe country and there was no threat of insecurity as is being suggested.
“The topography of crime within the sub-region gives credence to the fact that massive work is being done by the police in Ghana and the security agencies in Ghana. And that is why and how the people of Ghana and the communities in Ghana are safe.”
She insisted that the recent crime surge not be described as a state of insecurity but a breach of state security measures.
“In essence, several preventive measures are taken around the clock and across the country to prevent the incidences of crime. But when a crime like the one that you have listed occur, we see it as a breach.
“It’s a breach of some of our security strategies, and, therefore, extra attention is paid to those breaches in order to arrest those perpetrators so that they are not able to occasion breaches again,” she said.
She added, “In the last few days, people have used the word insecurity, insecurity, this is because of the privilege of having the media space, and that is causing more fear and panic. It is not a reality. The use of the word must be looked at.
“If you move beyond your bounds to other parts of the country, you can see the bigger picture and tell the story as accurately as it is so that people will continue to support the police.
“People will see that the bigger picture of preventing crime is what is happening, and then together we can all forge ahead.”
She thus cautioned members of the general public to desist from spreading fear and panic through the media.
She called on them to instead aid the police arrest these criminal elements by proffering any information that may be useful in their investigations.
“So people have the privilege of the media space, and then they make all sorts of allegations and claims in the media space causing unnecessary fear and panic.
“Perhaps I should also use this to appeal particularly to those who have the privilege of the media space that if you have all this information you claim to have, and you do not let the police know so that we can arrest the situation, but you go ahead making all those claims, what will be your agenda or what will be the motive?
“So fellow Ghanaians, this is not just something we should just be using the word insecurity; when you look at the bigger picture police are working, we are preventing incidences of crime from happening let us be assured that the breaches that have been occasioned we are working hard enough to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book.”
Meanwhile, regarding the recent criminal activities in the country, she disclosed that the Police have made some arrests and prosecutions have begun.
“Investigations are progressing in several of them – the cases that you have listed. In fact, most of the arrests have been made and the suspects have been connected to the crime according to the evidence that investigations have been able to get and some are even facing prosecutions, and this is across the country. So let’s just be assured,” she said.
