A security consultant, Richard Kumadoe, has described Ghana’s future regarding security as bleak.
He stated that the over-politicisation of the security services has paved way for ‘bad and criminal elements’ to be recruited into the security system, which is a dis-service and danger to the nation.
Mr. Kumadoe’s concern comes after the Ghana Police Service disclosed that four of their offices were part of the gang responsible for the recent bullion van robberies in Ghana.
The said attacks on bullion vans happened at Kingsway, Baatsona, Jamestown and North Kaneshie (Industrial Area) between 2021 and 2022.
Speaking about security issues and the future of Ghana’s security on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo breakfast show, the security consultant stated that “the future looks bleak, it looks darkened because we are working with politics.”
He asserted that political actors after failing to secure employment for the youth are using the security services as an alternative to create ‘job for the boys’.
According to him Ghana’s security apparatus is currently facing the phenomenon of “garbage in, garbage out” due to poor recruitment processes, lack of extensive background checks on applicants, absence of supervision and monitoring of individual police officers and units.
Explaining the involvement of officers in the robberies, he stated that aside the poor recruitment process and absence of background checks, the character of the policemen in question and the huge sums of money being transported played a role in the bullion van attacks.
Outlining the dangers of improper recruitment into police service, he added that bad elements among the police could be a conduit for coup d’etats while rogue officers could form criminal syndicates and terrorize the citizens through extortions, armed robbery and killings.
Richard Kumadoe therefore charged the police hierarchy to clean up the system to weed out the criminal elements posing as officers.
“They should take away political interference and allow IGP Dampare, Edward Kabiri, Kofi Boakye and the top guys determined to do the work to sanitize the system even though law enforcement systems have a way of cleaning themselves…”, he pleaded with politicians.
