The Member of Parliament for Wa West Constituency, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has painted dire consequences over the incidence of police personnel involved in suspected armed robbery cases in the country.
According to the retired police officer, one police officer who is involved in armed robbery is more dangerous than ten criminals put together.
Mr. Toobu expressed this fear in an interview with 3FM’s Sunrise hosted by Alfred Ocansey on Thursday, March 10.
Sunrise sought to find out why two police officers who had been arrested earlier were taken to a scene to effect the arrest of other suspected criminals who have been involved in bullion van robberies in the country.
The member of the Defence and Interior Committee in Parliament wondered: “How can you take a suspect on an operation?
“I can’t understand how it happened. Where were [the police suspects] going to be positioned? How were their lives going to be protected?”
Mr. Toobu explained that “one police officer who turns to an armed robber becomes more dangerous than ten armed robbers”.
“They are all well-armed. They have been given training. They are more dangerous than a normal criminal because they are trained officers. Police officers don’t shoot anyhow. There are rules and regulations governing the use of gun.”
Asked whether the police killed the arrested two police officers just to ‘kill’ the story, Mr. Toobu said, “if they think by killing these people, the case will die, it will not because the IGP has vowed to go deeper into the case”.
“Criminals are not to be killed. They are to be arrested and prosecuted and reconstruction at the crime scene is to ascertain whether it was a failed strategy or otherwise. A crime cannot be covered…it’s just a matter of time.”
Salute IGP
The MP praised the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, for the tenacity to deal with suspected criminals in the Ghana Police Service.
“I want to salute the IGP because having inherited over 40,000 police personnel; it’s a huge challenge and he needs to kick these people out. I salute the IGP. I salute the men who are doing the job.”
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana