The government has given clearance for the recruitment of 5,000 police officers as part of efforts to boost the manpower of the various security agencies.
This comes at a time when there are complaints about rising incidents of violent crimes across the country.
A letter from the Finance Ministry to the Interior Ministry that confirmed the approval for recruitment indicated that similar clearance has been given to the Fire Service, Immigration Service, and the Prisons Service.
The Fire Service, Immigration Service, and the Prisons Service will each recruit 2,000 persons.
Ghana’s Police Service is said to have a staff strength of 25,000, putting the police to citizen ratio at 1:1200.
This is far below the United Nation’s minimum ratio of 1:500.
About a year after the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery assumed office in 2017, he said Ghana’s Police Service needed more than 23,000 additional men to be able to meet the UN’s ratio.
“The Ghana Police Service, at the time they took office, suffered a personnel deficit. We have a little over 23, 000 personnel. We, therefore, suffer a deficit of 23,000, and accordingly, we do not make the mark of the UN minimum police to population ratio of one to five hundred. In fact, the ratio in Ghana is one to eight hundred and forty-eight,” Ambrose Dery said in December 2017, adding that the Akufo-Addo government is determined to increase the staff strength of the police service.
By: Jonas Nyabor
