• The acting IGP is bringing some new vibe to the work
• The IGP has swiftly dealt with cases such as the Abesim killings since taking office
It’s been exactly 52 days since Dr. George Akuffo Dampare took over as the acting Inspector General of Police of the Ghana Police Service.
Being the youngest acting IGP to be appointed in the Fourth Republic and the eighth youngest since Ghana gained independence, his work has endeared him to many people also because of the many unusually interesting things he has undertaken.
From his first major assignment in Abesim to the most recent decision to interdict some four men caught on video at Tamale, assaulting residents, there is no doubt the new IGP is bringing some new vibe to the work.
Here are a few of the instances he has taken very swift actions on:
Abesim Ritual Killings
On Sunday, August 22, 2021, just after news broke about the suspected ritual killings by a certain 28-year-old architect, Richard Appiah, the acting IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, stormed Abesim, in the Bono Region.
The news was that the suspect had killed three persons.
Richard Appiah was arrested and was assisting in investigations but in the company of COP Paul Awuni, Director-General MTTD; DCOP Habiba Sarpong, Director General, Welfare; DCOP Bediako, Director General, Services, and other senior members of the police administration, the IGP visited the area.
The IGP, who was in the town to assess the situation, described the incident as painful and assured that the police would conduct expeditious investigations for justice to prevail.
He was later commended by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mpohor, John Aboah Sanie, for the swift action he took in the case.
Tamale Policemen Assault
On September 21, 2021, a video showing four uniformed policemen brutalizing residents of Tamale went viral with many calls on the IGP to act.
A few hours after, a statement from the Ghana Police Service stated that the four police officers, working with the Tamale Regional Police Command, had been interdicted.
The statement said that the action had been taken against the men for their assault on some residents of Tamale in the Northern Region.
The residents, who were victims of the assaults, were believed to have allegedly been involved in illegal power connections.
The police statement said, “The Police Administration has with immediate effect, interdicted four police officers working with the Tamale Regional Police Command following the alleged assault of some persons in Tamale in the Northern Region today, Tuesday, September 21, 2021.”
Crime in Kasoa
One of the major things done by Dr. George Akuffo Dampare when he took over office was the creation of the Central East Regional Command, which was carved out of the Central Regional Police Command, to enable the police effectively combat crime in Kasoa and its environs.
Following this, the acting Inspector-General of Police and members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) embarked on a 20-hour ground operational tour of the newly created police command.
Since the creation of the new region, almost 200 personnel have been deployed to fight crime in the police region.
It will be noted that crime rates in areas such as Kasoa have been on the rise, with many calls for the police to be more effective in fighting the insurgences there.
The police chief, Dr. George Dampare, was in Abesim after news broke of the killings there