THE UNSUNG HEROES

The Ghana Police Service could pass for the most tongue-lashed public
organization in the country.

Anytime this foremost security agency falters as could any other human
institution, most Ghanaians are quick to attack them especially on the
airwaves. With the current reign of freedom of expression, many
Ghanaians are able to contribute their views on national issues.

When the subject is the Police, we can bet that there is usually no
stopping of these contributors in their sometimes negative comments.

Like any other organization, the security agency is peopled with
persons with different backgrounds and dispositions.

We however wish to counsel that there are wonderful persons in this
institution, who have contributed fantastically towards the
maintenance of law and order, even as the bad nuts continue to throw
spanners in the works.

We once wrote that if we think the Police Service is useless, we
should try a Police-less Ghana.

Unfortunately, we cannot try such a thing because the repercussions
would be too disastrous with no chance of even reversing the damage
caused. So we cannot try a police-less Ghana.

What we should do is rather think about how to change the lot of the
institution. This can only be done by brainstorming over the subject
with a view to coming up with ideas which can lead to this ideal goal.

There are effective modules we can adopt to reach there and so we
should stop whining and think about how to remedy a bad situation.

One of the surest ways of changing the face of the Police is to reward
those who excel or exhibit rare qualities.

Last week we had cause to commend the IGP when he recognized the role
of a neighbourhood watchdog committee by giving them GhC200. The
reward went a long way in raising the morale of the men.

There is one detective whose performance in the face of a number of
narcotic cases has earned him a number of commendations.

He was mentioned by the Georgina Woode Commission of Enquiry into one
of the cocaine cases which rocked the country.

We are not too sure about his rank but he could be a Detective
Inspector or Chief Inspector and he played a major detective role in
the Yendi crisis featuring subsequently in the Wuaku Commission of
Enquiry into the chaos.

Charles Adaba as he was referred to in one of the commendations
handled the Tagor, MV Benjamin and indeed all the high profile cocaine
cases.

The cases have been disposed of and those found guilty jailed and so
he has cause to pop champagne for the victory over the forces of
criminality.

It is not our intention to compose a citation for Charles Adaba but to
bring to the fore, some of the wonderful persons who exist in the
Police Service, whose performance should be considered when we
erroneously try to condemn the whole Police Service.

There are many unsung heroes in the mould of Charles Adaba but because
his performance has been documented in the drug cases, we think that
he should be presented as a role model for other cops to emulate.

We are suggesting that because of the public focus on the Police
Service, an elaborate system of identifying those who exhibit sterling
qualities in the performance of their duties be put in place.

When this is done we can advance a reward mechanism to recognize those
who excel. The frequency of this should be determined by the Police
Administration or a committee for that purpose.

We even think that the Interior Ministry should play a role in this
direction because of its importance.

When it is established, we should ensure that all police personnel
across the nation are observed not only by their superiors but members
of the public whose voices could be allowed to play a role in
rewarding the outstanding cops.

In the nooks and corners of the country, there are other police men
and women who are quietly doing their best to make our country
peaceful. Let us reward the unsung heroes.