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About 3,000 personnel trained in the past
seven months for community protection
Kumasi, Sept 7, Ghanadot/GNA- The
Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment has within the
past seven months trained about 3,000 community protection
personnel, under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP)
to augment the efforts of the Ghana Police Service to combat
crime in the country.
Nana Akomea, the Sector Minister, who announced this,
explained that apart from being provided with decent
employment, the personnel would offer personal security,
safety and dignity to residents in their communities.
He was speaking at the graduation and passing-out parade of
the third batch of the personnel trained under the Community
Protection Unit (CPU) in Kumasi on Friday.
In all, 1,034 graduands from the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo
Regions were given four-week intensive training in criminal
code and law, duties of a security guard, crime scene
management, law of evidence and environmental human rights
at the Police Training Depot in Kumasi.
Nana Akomeah described as "unfortunate and political talk"
the assertion by the National Democratic Congress that the
government had recruited, trained and armed the personnel
with guns and ammunitions for the purpose of rigging the
2008 General Elections.
He stated that the New Patriotic Party won the 2000 and 2004
General Elections when the CPU was not in existence and
wondered why the Party would need the Unit before it could
win the 2008 elections.
Nana Akomeah said "Indeed if the CPU would win elections,
then it would be because of the protection they would offer
to thousands of Ghanaians of all political shades and the
offer of thousands of jobs to our youth who would otherwise
not be employed."
He observed that the Ghana Police Service is limited in
personnel, logistics and other training facilities to
effectively combat the increased crime wave in the country
hence the evolvement of the community protection concept.
Nana Akomea said the CPU, which was originally conceived
under the NYEP as a source of employment, is currently under
the operational management, control and command of the
Community Policing Department of the Police Service.
The Minister said the Police Service had developed
appropriate guidelines governing the recruitment and
operations of the CPU, which had now been turned to the
Police Support Unit."
GNA
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