Story by: News Desk
Residents of Nsakina and five other communities in the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA), Greater Accra have appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, to come to the aid of the police in Nsakina.
The five neigbhouring communities are Oduman, Oshuiman, Manhean, Afuaman, and Peace Village.
Speaking with this online news portal, the residents in these 6 communities explained that despite the tireless efforts of the Nsakina police in combating crimes, the station was saddled with serious logistical constraints.
According to them, the key among the challenges confronting the police station was the lack of manpower.
They said the lack of more police personnel at the station was not helping the police in their effective policing duties in the above communities.
They stressed that this was also not making the Nsakina police deal effectively with crimes.
The residents also pointed out that the lack of a police vehicle at Nsakina was hampering their efforts to fight crimes quickly and efficiently.
A resident of Nsakina, Auntie Adjoa, told this online news portal that almost daily the Nsakina police station is inundated with cases from Manhean, Afuaman, Oduman, and Peace Village.
She attributed this situation to the proximity of the police station to these communities, and because many of the residents see Amasaman Police District Command as rather far.
Furthermore, the residents bemoaned the fact that the station did not have a Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) to take care of reported cases of abuse and violence against women and children.
In an interview with a former Assembly member of the Manhean Electoral Area, Hon Malik Abass, he recounted that he wrote a petition to the GWMA and the Ghana Police Service on this matter.
He explained that because the Nsakina police station did not have a DOVVSU unit, cases of rape and child abuse that are reported at the station are often referred to the Amasaman Police District Command.
“…and when the referral come, most people [the complainants] because picking a vehicle to Amasaman to complain is seen by many as a tedious exercise.
In light of the fact that the station is still without a DOVVSU unit, Hon Abass reiterated his appeal for the Police Administration to set up a DOVVSU unit at the Nsakina police station.
As a result of the loads of complaints it receives daily, the Nsakina police station, with its small police officers, has been struggling to deal effectively and efficiently with crimes. This oftentimes comes with some backlash from the residents.
Some of the residents indicated that they were not surprised fighting crimes in Nsakina, Manhean, and Oduman has become a herculean task for the Nsakina police.
“The police in Nsakina are very hardworking! But the fact is they are handicapped in terms of personnel and other crucial logistics. This is making it very difficult for them to deal with crimes in Manhean, Nsakina, Oduman, and Peace Village,” a resident of Nsakina, Nii Akwandoh, told the portal.
While commending the Nsakina police for their “good works,” another resident in Oduman, Vivian Andoh, said all was not well with the station.
She noted that there were times the station even struggles to get personnel to respond to distress calls from residents due to its limited personnel.
“The Nsakina police station urgently needs more personnel to enable them to carry out their core mandate of protecting lives and properties,” Vivian charged.
In light of the above, they called on the IGP Dr Akuffo Dampare to address the problems bedeviling Nsakina police station with a sense of urgency.
They stressed that the quick intervention of the IGP in attending to the problems faced by the Nsakina police will help bring sanity to Nsakina, Manhean, Oduman, and Afuaman communities.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com