INL PROGRAMS INITIATED ON COMMUNITY POLICING AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000350

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL / ERENI ROESS, DOJ FOR ICITAP / ERIC BEINHART
AND MARIA VEGA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR GH
SUBJECT: INL PROGRAMS INITIATED ON COMMUNITY POLICING AND
POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS UNIT

REF: 04 ACCRA 01923

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SUMMARY
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1. Two INL-funded programs in Ghana were successfully
initiated in January. A new community policing unit was
launched in Kumasi on January 28 (with twenty new patrol
bikes) and the Embassy donated four computer workstations to
the Ghana Police Service (GPS) on January 31. The launchings
corresponded with a visit from INL and ICITAP
representatives, who met with key Ghanaian law enforcement
officials during their January 27 - February 1 orientation
visit to Ghana. The GPS is eager for more cooperation from
the USG. End summary.

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BICYCLES HIT THE ROADS IN KUMASI
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2. On January 28, the Ghana Police Service (GPS) launched a
twenty-man community policing unit in Kumasi, the second
largest city in Ghana. The new officers are stationed at the
Kumasi police training college under the supervision of an
Assistant Superintendent in charge of the new program. The
regional police unit plans to train an additional 20 officers
for the program once their transfers from other duties have
been completed. The bicycles for this program were formally
handed over to GPS headquarters in Accra in August 2004
(reftel). Due to unforeseen personnel commitments to
nationwide pre-election security, the training was delayed
until January 2005.


3. In a meeting on February 10 with PolOff, the Regional
Commander for the Ashanti Region, Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, said
he hoped to make the new community policing unit permanent.
This would lessen concerns about the high turnover rate of
officers in the GPS, which in the past has undermined efforts
to institutionalize new initiatives such as community
policing. PolOff stated that it was important to implement
the program in such a way that knowledge and skills are not
lost when trained officers eventually move on to other
positions.


4. Not surprisingly, Regional Commander Gyeabour requested
further material support to sustain the program. Among his
requests were the need for radios for each community policing
officer and equipment to establish a secretariat office for
the new program. While the GPS is prepared to commit office
space at the police college for the secretariat, the
resources for procuring equipment such as computers simply
are not there, Gyeabour said. He also expressed concern over
obtaining the parts necessary for repairing and maintaining
the bicycles, which has been a problem for the Accra unit.


5. The inauguration of the new Kumasi unit marks a notable
step for the GPS in terms of sustainability. Rather than
relying on USG trainers to instruct the officers (which
happened in 2002 to launch the initial program),the police
trained their own officers with help from the existing unit
in Accra. With the kind of celebratory fanfare that often
accompanies such events in Ghana, the unit displayed for
PolOff a number of patrol techniques using the new bikes
(including some entertaining role playing by unit officers).
In discussions with the unit leaders after the display, it
was clear that there are some officers who are seriously
committed to institutionalizing the concept of community
policing in Ghana.

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COMPUTERIZING THE GPS INTERNAL AFFAIRS UNIT
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6. On January 31, the Ambassador participated with the Chief
Director of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Edwin Barnes, and
the Inspector General of the Police, Nana Owusu Nsiah, in a
ceremony to donate four computer workstations to the GPS's
Monitoring and Inspections Unit (MIU) in Accra. The
INL-funded donation, valued at almost $20,000, completes a
program begun in 2003 to build capacity for the GPS in
monitoring its internal affairs and improving the
anti-corruption capacity of the service. The ceremony
received significant press coverage and the computers will
transform the MIU from a paper file-based operation into an
office that utilizes computerized case management. The GPS
has hired a technical assistant from a local university to
aid in training the police officers in using the new
equipment.


7. The MIU was established in 2000 to investigate complaints
about the misconduct of police personnel both from within the
GPS and from the public. In 2004, the MIU received a total of
590 complaints or petitions against the police, reflecting an
increase in 135 cases over the year before. In both 2003 and
2004, the majority of these complaints was for the undue
delay of cases, reflecting a significant backlog in case
management by the police and judiciary. The computerization
of the MIU is one step in the right direction toward
assisting the GPS to overcome this backlog.


8. As with the community policing program, the IGP and the
Chief Director presented the Mission with requests for
additional USG assistance. In his speech at the handover
ceremony, the IGP made an appeal to the USG and other foreign
donors for assistance in setting up a modern forensic
laboratory in Ghana, for training opportunities outside of
Ghana, and for the establishment of an exchange program with
U.S. police officers (possibly with the Washington, D.C.
police, which the IGP visited). In a private meeting on
January 31 with PolOff and the visiting delegation from INL
and ICITAP, the Chief Director noted that the USG "often
provides for the children, but not for the father" in a
request for material assistance and training at the
ministerial level. He also noted the need for police
exchanges with the U.S., curriculum training, and the police
force's critical need for more physical space.

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COMMENT
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9. A number of mid-level police officers are committed to
reform and have demonstrated a clear willingness to
institutionalize new ideas and practices in the GPS. At the
senior level, the GPS remains extremely hierarchical and
conservative. When the GPS launched a community policing unit
in Accra in 2002, many of the unit's officers left the unit
soon after training. We are encouraged that the GPS seems to
be thinking more about institutionalizing training, which
should magnify the impact of USG programs. Post has engaged
several up-and-coming officers in an attempt to nurture these
new INL-funded programs. Although the GoG is utilizing USG
assistance well in this capacity, it has a long wish list and
further assistance will be required to help the GoG more
firmly establish new programs. The challenge lies in
identifying the priority areas for training and material
assistance, and in helping the GoG put in place measures to
sustain them over time. End comment.
YATES