Security Analyst, Dr. Kwesi Aning, has stated that the alarming rate of arm robbery in the country will not get better anytime soon.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Security Analyst adviced that Ghanaians brace themselves for a lot more of these cases, noting that the situation will get really bad before it gets better.
“My point is that many more of this will happen, this is going to get considerably worse before it starts t o turn,” he said.
According to him, all these rampant criminal acts can be attributed to the fact that Ghana has not invested enough in her law enforcement sector.
“I have said this the last three years and proven over time that because we have not invested in our law enforcement area, in terms of the manpower, the equipment, and in terms of the fact that we don’t do any crime surveys, that these things will happen and it is coming to pass,” he said.
He also stated that the security system in the country is a sham, pointing to the fact that, the country does not prosecute cases as they are supposed to. He says there aren’t even good enough roads for the police to chase robbers if the need arises.
“We don’t have enough prosecutors, 82 percent of all crimes committed in this country are still under investigation, less than three percent are actually convicted, we have a response time of between 15 to 20minutes, the police are not consulted about the kind of vehicles that are needed for them to be able to chase robbers taking into the consideration the quality of our roads,”he said.
He noted that the situation will only continue to worsen, as long as civilians can get their hands on unregistered weapons, as long as the youthful populations are unemployed and as long as there is a constant expansion of unplanned urban places.
Robbers on rampage
This week has seen a number of robbery incidents in the Accra, one on a Forex Bureaux at Spintex and two daylight robberies in the North Kaneshie area.
Two persons are reported to have sustained gunshot wounds from suspected robbers who appeared to be fleeing a crime scene.
Gunfire was first heard in the area around a Latex Foam showroom at North Kaneshie where the robbers had crashed their vehicle. Two persons have since been arrested in connection with the incident.
Also on Tuesday morning, armed men stormed Royal Motors, an automobile company in Accra, making away with the company’s sales.
Eyewitnesses reported that the robbers trailed a bullion van that had entered the Industrial Area premises of the company to collect the company’s sales made the previous day.
Recent arrests
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante Appeatu, had earlier announced that the police arrested a group of suspected robbers believed to be behind attacks on about 20 forex bureaux in the Spintex road area in just 2018.
The attacks on these Forex Bureaux were growing number of robberies and high-profile criminal activity in the region.
Mobile money transfer points have also been targeted by robbers in recent times.
‘We’re ready to die’
Despite these attacks, the Director of Operations for the Ghana Police Service, COP George Akufo Dampare has said although his outfit is logistically deficient, they are ready to put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of every Ghanaian.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Dampare also noted that the support of the citizens will go a long way to help the Police Service combat the increasing rate of crime in the country.
“We want to give them [citizens] the assurance that we will go every length, including losing our lives to make them safe. We understand that we are not there yet, in terms of the full complement of our equipment. We also understand that over the years, government after government has made an attempt to bring us to a particular level in terms of equipment,” he said.
Source: citifmonline.com