Ghanaians don't trust the police. A criminologist on what needs to be done about it
Retrieved on:
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Recent reports by the research network Afrobarometer show a decline in trust between citizens and officers amid complaints of harassment and bribery.
Key Points:
- Recent reports by the research network Afrobarometer show a decline in trust between citizens and officers amid complaints of harassment and bribery.
- The Conversation’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to criminologist Justice Tankebe about the reasons behind the breakdown in trust and ways to improve it.
Do Ghana’s police serve the interests of citizens?
- First is the effective use of police authority to protect citizens from violence and threats to their constitutional rights.
- Police officers do not serve this interest when they engage in illegal practices such as robbery, unlawful killing of civilians or bribery.
- Simply put, people’s social class, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or political affiliation should not influence the decisions of police officers.
- A survey of Ghanaians shows a little over half of them think the police treat them fairly.
Why are the police struggling to serve Ghanaians?
The first reason is the colonial roots of the Ghanaian police, which continue to show in three ways:
police officers expect people to accept decisions without question
officers are subservient to elites, who have undue influence on police work
the police are not sufficiently accountable to local communities.
- This is exemplified in the leaked audio of an alleged plot to replace Ghana’s police chief, which is now the subject of a parliamentary investigation.
- Beyond the colonial legacy, political interference means there’s a risk of unsuitable people being recruited to the police.
- Finally, the behaviours that supervisors model to frontline officers can affect how they interact with citizens.
What are the consequences for democracy?
- A country cannot claim to be democratic if the police arbitrarily arrest people, humiliate them, suppress political dissent, and exceed their legal mandate.
- Indeed, some scholars argue that this may help save democracy from the threat of the military taking control.
What reforms are required?
- A democratically oriented police service would view its mandate as creating conditions for citizens to enjoy their constitutional rights.
- Ghanaians have limited information about the internal accountability mechanisms, such as what happens to complaints filed against police officers.
- Research evidence shows the lack of appropriate signals from the Ghana Police Service deters officers from reporting unethical colleagues.
- Thirdly, reforms are required to insulate the police from political capture.
Justice Tankebe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.