A former Police Detective, Samuel Nana Appiah says the Ghana Police Administration should revise the mode of arming Police personnel escorting bullion vans in the country.
Speaking to Bonohene Baffour Awuah on Ghana Kasa on Kasapa 102.5 FM, the former Police Detective pointed out that the Jamestown incident evokes the overwhelming challenges and lack of intelligence gathering by the Ghana Police Service in combating crime.
This comes on the back of the killing of a police officer and one other by suspected robbers during bulk cash transfer at James Town in Accra.
According to the former Police Detective, a crime-prone area like Adedenpo in Jamestown required a sophisticated security strategy in entering the enclave.
“It is disheartening that we always hear Police being killed in bullion van attacks. We must stop giving AK-47 rifles because when you are sitting in a bullion van or pick-up and you are holding AK-47 using it in an emergency situation will be very difficult,” he stated.
He added: “What are the side-arms being used for? what are the thousands of the side arms being kept for? All these are some of the things policymakers have to discuss. So we should talk in that direction in order to come up with some contemporary policing policy intelligence.”
The Former Police Detective said it’s incumbent on the Police to undertake periodic patrols, map-up strategies, and intensifying police visibility in such enclaves.
“The Police are aware of how Jamestown is, the character of people who live there. Frequent Police intelligence gathering in such areas is very crucial,” he added.
The Inspector-General of Police has given the Banks in Ghana a June 30 deadline to acquire fortified armoured vehicles to cart cash countrywide or risk the withdrawal of police escort.
Meanwhile, a statement sighted Kasapafmonline.com issued by the Bank of Ghana last year, rather directed the association of bankers to procure a fit-for-purpose vehicle for bulk cash transfer by 2023.
