EASTERN Region, the third most populous region after Ashanti and Greater Accra, is one of the political entities with comparatively very low crime rate compared with some of the other regions.
The region, however, records a number of criminal acts such as defilement, rape, assault and petty stealing cases in all the communities, especially in the rural areas.
While people in the big towns like Koforidua, the regional capital, Oda, Kade, Somanya, Nkawkaw, Suhum and Kyebi have been provided with police stations to promptly deal with all criminal cases, most of the smaller towns and villages do not have such facilities.
The situation has compelled inhabitants of such communities who suffer from criminal activities to go on foot or by road to the towns with police stations or posts to lodge complaints for the apprehension of the criminals.
Since most of the police stations also do not have vehicles for their operations, the complainants have to look for their own means of transport to convey policemen assigned to arrest the alleged culprits.
The difficulty entailed in securing vehicles and the long period involved in arresting the alleged culprits constitute a big problem and conveying the criminals in the same vehicles as the complainants and officials of the law-enforcment agents (at times a lone unarmed policeman) makes it easy for the criminals to abscond.
There were even instances where some criminals beat up policemen aboard the vehicles or ambushed victims on their way to the police stations and severely assaulted them.
To remedy such an unpleasant situation, the Regional Police Command, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) George Anko-Bil, with the support of the various communities, has taken up the responsibility of providing the smaller towns and villages without police stations with such facilities.
While the people provide buildings for use as police stations or posts through communal labour, DCOP Anko-Bil provides logistics and men to man the stations.
DCOP Anko-Bil, whose posting to the region has helped reduce criminal activities due to his swift response to all criminal acts, has made known his readiness to continue to collaborate with the people for the provision of such facilities to promptly deal with criminals.
One of such facilities, which was inaugurated at the weekend, is a renovated Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOOD) depot at Wirenkyiren Amanfrom, a small town in the East Akyem Municipality.
The inhabitants of the town, which lies on the old Suhum-Kyebi road, hitherto had to rely on policemen at either Kyebi or Apedwa, and since the distance to the two places is about 20 kilometres apart, it was difficult to apprehend criminals in the town.
The provision of the facility has been welcomed by the entire inhabitants of the community as the best package ever to be presented to the town.
The Assembly member for the area, Mr Oaten Adjei, the Nkusuohemaa, Nana Asiah Beyeeman I and Barima Ofosuhene Peprah IV, the chief of Wirenkyiren Amanfrom, together with the citizens resident in Accra and abroad, played significant roles in the opening of the police station.
“I want to say that this police station is God-send and it is a dream come true,” elated Nana Asiah Beyeeman told the gathering at its inauguration.
She, however, urged the inhabitants not to forget that acts by miscreants were not confined to the big cities.
According to her, what made their community’s security situation more frightening was the diversion of the main Accra-Kumasi highway from the town, isolating it and making it vulnerable to criminals.
Nana Asiah Beyeeman was, however, hopeful that with policemen in the town now, criminal activities would be checked.
For his part, Barima Peprah appealed to the Police Administration to resource the police station with a vehicle and other logistics that would ensure speedy apprehension of criminals.
Inaugurating the police station, the former acting Inspector-General of Police, Mrs Elizabeth Robertson, praised the people of the town for providing the facility, which, she said, was necessary since the government alone could not provide everything needed for policing.
She, therefore, stressed the need for the district assemblies, companies and individuals to help in that direction by providing offices, living quarters and logistics to improve policing in their respective communities.
While the people of Wirenkyiren Amanfrom deserved praise for the initiative they took to provide the town with a police station to safeguard their security, it is hoped that the Regional Police Command would ensure that police personnel posted to man the facility would live up to the ethics of the their profession by eschewing negative tendencies that had for some time tarnished the reputation of the law enforcers.
This would ensure that the toil of the people who provided the facility would be rewarded with a crime-free society in which inhabitants of the town and its environs would go about with their daily activities without fear.
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