FPU to be extended to 140 police bases
All 140 bases of the Ghana Police Service across the country are soon to benefit from the services of the Formed Police Units (FPUs), a specialised unit of the service, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced.
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Without any doubt, he said, the FPU personnel would greatly enhance security, law and order in the country.
The President, therefore, urged the officers, men and women who were going to serve the FPUs to undertake their duties with utmost professionalism.
The President, who was speaking at a ceremony at the Ghana Police Service headquarters in Accra yesterday to hand over 100 pick-up vehicles, 600 motorcycles and six armoured carrier vehicles to the FPUs, urged the personnel to show love and civility to the communities they would be serving, but encouraged them to do their work without fear or favour.
“Always remember that you are accountable to the good people of Ghana.
I appeal to all officers of the regional FPUs to ensure that these vehicles and motorcycles are kept in good condition at all times to enhance the delivery of policing services in all the 140 communities,” he added.
FPU vehicles
Until recently, President Akufo-Addo said: “
The FPU was only stationed in Accra. However, through support from the government, the unit was extended to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, and is now being formed in all other regions.”
On August 15, 2022, the President handed over 1,500 motorcycles to the Police Service, and all of these, the President indicated, were evidence of the commitment of the government to continue to retool the police.
“It is born out of the fact that the police play a critical role in the development of our country, hence the need to ensure that the police service is adequately resourced to discharge its duties for the safety and security of all of us, as well as for the growth of economic activity.
“It is for this reason that I urge the leadership of the police service to continue to do their part towards deepening the sense of security, law and order in the country,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
He said specialised anti-robbery task forces spread across hitherto crime hotspots had been successful in reducing violent crimes significantly.
President Akufo-Addo said the incidence of abuse of sirens had greatly reduced, especially within Accra, pointing out that “through these road safety targeted interventions, for the first time in a long while, our nation has recorded a 20 per cent decrease in the number of persons killed through road accidents and crashes”.
He commended the Police Administration for the efforts, but said “we can do even more”.
He appealed to motorcycle riders and other road users to obey traffic regulations at all times, saying: “Ghana needs all of its citizens to help move it forward.”
Facelift
President Akufo-Addo, who used the occasion to inaugurate the national police headquarters facelift project, said, “It is refreshing to observe the numerous renovations and changes that have been carried out on the frontage and the immediate surroundings of the police headquarters.”
These, he mentioned, included the reconstruction of the walls around the headquarters, the remodelling of the gates and the renovation of the CID building, adding that landscaping around the entire building and on the premises would not go unnoticed.
“I dare say that if you want to rank all public buildings now, police headquarters will most likely emerge as one of the best in terms of appearance and the surroundings, which create orderliness and discipline in the minds of the officers,” he said, and further commended the leadership of the service for embarking on the renovation and facelift project.
President Akufo-Addo expressed the appreciation of the nation to the Inspector General of Police, members of the police management board and all police officers for their invaluable services to the country even at the peril of their lives.
He said it was testimony that under the leadership of the current IGP, the police service was undergoing a great improvement and a change of image.
Gradually, he said, the police had brought order to the roads, and now all Ghanaians know that the law was no respecter of persons or vehicle types.
The Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, expressed delight about the support the police service and the other security agencies were receiving under the administration of the government and said it had brought the service from a back burner to a fore burner.
The Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, gave an assurance that the service would do everything to deliver its vision and mandate.
