Country Must Set Standard for Policing in Africa – Okudzeto

Phyllis D. Osabutey

THE CHAIRMAN of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Advisory Committee, Mr. Sam Okudzeto has stated that Ghana deserves the best policing that would be a standard for other African countries to follow and also enhance the esteem of the police service.

According to him, “Ghanaians like to shine and so we will like to shine in policing as well, to become an example for others.” Mr. Okudzeto was speaking at a public forum on “The Rights of Arrested Persons in Ghana”, organized by CHRI in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and the Australian High Commission (AHC) in Accra, on Monday.

He regretted that many Ghanaians did not know their rights, especially, regarding arrest and detention, interrogation, bail and legal aid, hence there have been and continue to be abuses of rights of Ghanaians, especially arrested persons.

In his view, the rights of Ghanaians as enshrined in the constitution would be meaningless unless the citizens understand them and hold appropriate persons and agencies responsible for their enactment. He noted that because people did not know and understand their rights, they see abuse of their rights, especially by the police in arrest and detention as the norm, while the police in turn regard those who demand for the right thing to be done as interfering in their work.

He urged the police not to perceive those who criticize them as obstructing their work but rather corporate with all to ensure a better police service to the benefit of all.

Particularly, he said the police have a duty to educate arrested persons on their rights during arrest and its related circumstances such as the right to a lawyer and independent witness during interrogation rather than waiting for arrested persons to insist on their rights.

The Project Officer, Police Accountability Project of CHRI, Mina Mensah said the forum was part of a one-year project on the rights of arrested persons, funded by the AHC to educate Ghanaians about the rights in relation to arrest and detention, interrogation, bail and legal aid.

This is also aimed at strengthening the protection of the fundamental right of all persons to their liberty and security, saying “an informed public will be well equipped to demand respect, protection, promotion and fulfillment of their rights from the State and its agents.”

On the other hand, she noted that an informed civil society would hold its leaders and public officials accountable for infractions of their basic human rights, such as the right to liberty and security.

She said this was necessary because, often, the right to liberty and security was subjugated to the quest to arrest or detain a person, lamenting that “several police arrests have often been carried out with the attendant violations of the fundamental rights and liberties of suspects.”

According to her, the freedom to pursue any human endeavour without fear was one of the highest aspirations of the common people, which must be guided by the existence of progressive laws that ensure order and peaceful coexistence in the society.

“Consequently, the laws governing arrest and detention of persons must always work in tandem with right to liberty and security”, she advised.

In a speech read on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, by the Director/Administrator, ACP Dr. P.A. Wiredu, stated that the GPS considers professional policing and law enforcement functions very important, because they impinge on the sensitivities of individual rights and freedoms.

He indicated that on a daily basis the police and other law enforcement agencies who exercise some powers of arrest frequently come under a barrage of attacks and criticism, due to complaints of alleged blatant violations of individual human rights and fundamental freedoms.

He noted that some of the accusations were legally justifiable while others were based on mere perceptions without substance. “This phenomenon tends to throw into question the professional, ethical and moral integrity of police officers who are statutorily charged with the protection of life and property, and the enforcement of law and order among others,” he regretted.

After expatiating on the rights of arrested persons, he pointed out that “the police have the important duty to ensure that individual rights and freedoms are not unduly trampled upon.”

This therefore makes it imperative for police officers to observe and apply the relevant rules of criminal procedure and evidence as required by law and natural justice, in addition to constantly training the rank and file of the police in the principles and practice of democratic policing.

“Such training programmes will inculcate in our officers and men the requisite professional attitudes and practices based on a heightened consciousness about the promotion and protection of individual human rights and freedoms”, he observed.