The Police have cautioned landlords and tenants not to desert their houses, leaving behind the aged, feeble and the sick, to keep watch over homes on the eve of January 1.
Rather, able-bodied adults should be present at home and outside lights of the house should be switched on throughout the night to deter criminals from breaking in.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno, who gave the advice in an interview with The Ghanaian Times, said criminals usually take advantage of such occasions and break into houses to steal people�s belongings.
He cautioned the public against beggars, scrap dealers, repairers as well as shoe makers, who move from house to house ahead of the eve, because some of them could be criminals.
DCOP Yohuno stressed that the criminals pretend to offer services, but they spy during the day only and strike in the night.
He said the Police had posted personnel to provide security to complement Police Patrols and visibility.
DCOP Yohuno advised church goers returning home from watch-night service, to walk in pairs or groups to avoid any attack.
He asked parents to keep watch over their children to prevent them from being kidnapped.
DCOP Yohuno also cautioned that �criminals have also adopted other means to defraud innocent people, especially pastors, under the pretext of buying them cars for what they (pastors) have done for them.�
He explained that the criminals introduced themselves to pastors as people who they had prayed for and in appreciation of the breakthrough, they wanted to buy them cars.
DCOP Yohuno said the criminals asked the pastors to deposit money into a particular account and thereafter, asked them to contact car dealers for the cars.
DCOP Yohuno said �the car sellers would be called earlier on the numbers they display on the cars alerting them that somebody would approach them to carry out transactions and money would be paid into their accounts.
He said after victim pay money into the account the fraudsters would quickly withdraw the money and switch their phones off, making it difficult for both the car dealer and the pastor(s) to get in touch, saying this was a new trend criminals were using to outwit innocent people, especially pastors, and asked the public to be wary.
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