Ambrose Dery, the interior minister has said government is considering building the capacity of private security firms to complement the effort of the police service in providing security to Ghanaians.
The Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, has come under serious public backlash over the state of insecurity in some parts of the country.
Two bullion vans have been attacked by armed men in Accra and Central regions within a week leaving a police officer and a trader dead.
Speaking to Kofi Abotsi on Townhall Talk on Asaase Radio (21 June), Dery said government is treading cautiously with proposals to arm private security personnel.
“It is important for me to mention that we have private security agencies, the police are over 40,000, private security companies are more than 400,000 but their capacity and the control, you see you raise the danger of arms being in the hands of wrong people earlier.
“So, in examining this module we want to be careful that you are not allowing offensive weapons to be in the hands of people who are not trained and controlled. One of the things we hope to achieve is to reorganise the private security companies, give them some basic training, give them some regulations, they can then complement what is there,” Dery said.
Support for police
Dery also called on well-meaning individuals who are willing to support and equip the police to do so without any hesitation.
“It is the same reason why I asked the banks to pay some more… so if societies can pay to help the police, it is welcomed but only in the context that we are going to use the resources to improve the whole lot,” Dery said.
Fred Dzakpata
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