Police Calls For Public Support To Facilitate Peaceful Polls

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Patrick Timbilla, has assured Ghanaians that the police have the capacity to deal with any act that could threaten the December polls. He however, said, the police would need the support and cooperation of the public if they are to succeed, adding that the provision of security is not the preserve of the personnel alone but a shared responsibility. DCOP Timbilla was speaking at an orientation workshop organised by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) for members of the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), in Accra at the weekend. He said those who plan to foment trouble are living among people in the communities and that the police could only take preventive measures if they get information on such activities. The Police Commissioner therefore urged Ghanaians to get the telephone numbers of the police and so that they could easily pass on any information. The CFI is a coalition of civil society organisations, including religious bodies and professional associations committed towards the support of State institutions responsible for elections, to play their expected roles to ensure credible and peaceful elections. For this year�s elections, the CFI would establish �Situation Rooms� in the regions where people could pass on information that is likely to pose a threat to the electoral process. DCOP Timbilla said more than 26,000 security personnel would be deployed to ensure that there is safety at each polling station. He said apart from the security personnel at the polling stations, there would be a standby rapid deployment policy force, which would respond quickly to any crisis signal from any polling station. DCOP Timbilla said should the rapid deployed force failed to bring the situation under control at any polling station, the Armed Forces Detachments that would be deployed throughout the country away from the polling stations would be called in to enforce peace. He said in planning for the security measures for the election, polling stations and areas known to record problems during elections were considered and special measures have been put in place to contain any �nasty� situation. DCOP Timbilla urged people to use the cameras of their mobile phones to snap pictures of people who would engage in activities that threaten the peace of the country during the elections and pass on the pictures to the police to arrest the culprits for prosecution. He appealed to sellers of alcoholic beverages to voluntarily decide not to sell on the Election Day until the polls are over as their contributions towards ensuring peaceful elections.