Seizure of motorbikes will not curb crime – Adib Saani to police

Foreign Policy Analyst and Security Expert, Adib Saani has reacted to the police’s crime prevention exercise which led to the confiscation of some 919 motorbikes nationwide.

Although he refers to the exercise as a good one, he believes the police service can focus on other critical means of fighting crime other than seizing motorbikes.

In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, Adib Saani noted that “it is a good step because we do know that lately, armed robbers are using motorbikes and there is a need for us to clamp it down.”

He added, “but above all what we are seeing, I think it’s still very much important that we go a step beyond the manner in which we have approached this issue as a matter of urgency. We need to improve intelligence gathering and embark on surgical operations based on the actionable intelligence received.”

He inferred that, in other to ensure an adequate controlled mechanism to fight crime, the police have to act professionally and not end up creating new problems.

The Ghana Police Service has particularly been one institution that has championed the use of motorcycles especially, the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD). But the use of motorcycles to perpetrate crimes such as bag snatching, phone snatching, armed robbery, hit and run, shoot and run, among others have become rampant in Ghana and that has become a source of concern to the citizenry and policymakers in the country.

Most of the motor riders ride without the necessary documentation and safety means which gives the police the opportunity to ensure that, the motor traffic laws are respected.

Motorcycles have been used for and are still in use for courier services for businesses like DHL, EMS, and Ghana Post. Clerks and messengers of various institutions make use of motorcycles to carry out their daily assignments.

The Ghana Police Service in a recent exercise to fight crime has seized some 919 motorbikes nationwide.

The motorbikes were seized from unauthorized motor riders who have since failed to either present themselves for prosecution or submit the relevant documentation to enable the release of their bikes to them.