The Northern Regional Police Command has assured the public that it was ready for the forth coming general elections and had subsequently trained and equipped 130 police officers in a rapid deployment mission to deal with crowd and riot control.
The police officers who were given a week’s training in endurance march, use of fire arms, operational field deployment and tactical intervention, and effective use of tear gas had been advised to carry out their duties professionally to prevent any violence during and after the elections.
To display their skills and readiness for action, mock demonstrators were strategically dispelled and quelled by the rapid deployment team.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Matthew Appiah-Agyei, Deputy Northern Regional Police Commander, reminded the public, especially politicians to conduct themselves in an orderly manner to preserve the peace saying; ‘the police will deal with anybody who tries to create violence during the elections”.
He said the police would use fire arms in crowd control on violent and recalcitrant riotous mob and deal with ring leaders in accordance to the 1992 Constitution adding that the personnel would use adaptability, mobility and professionalism to dispel crowd.
ACP Appiah-Agyei said the skills acquired would enable the men to carry out their duties strictly on procedures and not on trial and error basis noting that identification of early warning signals and nibbing them in the bud were part of the strategies.
He said the police would give equal protection to all political rallies and other special events to avoid clashes in accordance with the Public Order Act 491/94 stressing that the police would not tolerate any unlawful road blocks.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ebenezer Tetteh, urged the personnel to use their professionalism shown at the exercise to respect the human rights of the citizens during the elections.
