2,200 Police to be deployed for crime-free Christmas

At least 2,200 policemen are to be deployed by the Police Administration to beef up security in 11 police regions before, during and after the Christmas and New Year festivities.

The police are also to organise confidence-building patrols in the form of route marches through some principal streets in all the regional capitals to assure the public of their readiness to fight crime and offer the needed security.

The Director General in charge of Police Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr John Kudalor, made this known when he launched the fifth edition of “Operation Father Christmas” in Accra yesterday.

He said the Police Administration was committed to ensuring that Ghanaians celebrated the Yuletide in peace.

In attendance were the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Mr Prosper Agblor; the Director General, Public Affairs Department, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Nenyi Ampa Benin, and the Director General of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr Angwubutoge Awuni.

The period before and during the Christmas and New Year celebrations is usually characterised by increased economic activities and heavy vehicular traffic.

Such a situation offers fertile grounds for criminals to operate and, therefore, poses a challenge to the security agencies.

Aim of the operation

Mr Kudalor said the aim of the operation was to assure the public that the police were poised and ready to provide the needed security in order to create the enabling environment for the celebration of the Christmas and the New Year.

“It is, therefore, the ultimate responsibility of the police to make sure that the Yuletide is celebrated devoid of crime and any untoward occurrence before, during and after the celebrations by protecting lives and property, ensuring the free flow of vehicular and human traffic and arresting and prosecuting persons who will take advantage of the occasions to commit crime,” he said.

The Director of Operations said the police would expand and intensify their visibility and accessibility patrol duties to all major towns throughout the country.

Additionally, special jackets with individual police identification numbers embossed on them for easy identification would also be worn by the personnel, especially those of the MTTD and the Highway Patrol Unit.