Police introduce new badges

The Ghana Police Service has introduced a new identification badge for police personnel as part of measures to check unprofessional conduct and deal with corrupt personnel within the service.
The new badge is an oval-shaped silver metallic crest with the Ghana Police Service crown superimposed on it with the inscription “officer” at the top. It also has a unique and permanent service number embossed at the bottom.

Until the introduction of the new badge, the police service was using the Service Numerals that had the name tag of police personnel.

At the launch of the badge in Accra yesterday, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, said the badge was to serve as an authority for all police personnel in the execution of lawful duties.

He said all personnel without the badge would be deemed improperly dressed and without authority to undertake any police task.

Mr Alhassan said unlike the old police symbol which could easily be duplicated and faked, the new badge contained certain key features that made it impossible to be forged.

He said with the continuous citing of police personnel for their involvement in misconduct, it became vital for the police administration to explore a more efficient way of identifying a police officer.

Explaining the rationale behind the project, the Director-General of the Public Affairs Department, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr David Nenyi Ampah, said against the backdrop of proliferation of private security companies and impersonation by criminals, “it is imperative to have a more advanced identification”.

According to him, the police administration has embarked on a re-organisation drive of some units and departments of the service to make them more effective and relevant to modern policing.

Mr Ampah said the police would soon open their command and staff college to train senior staff in management and command, for which the service presently relied on the military and foreign institutions.

By Dominic Moses Awiah/Daily Graphic/Ghana