The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has directed the Ghana Police Service to clamp down on the formation of illegal self-protection forces by chiefs, political parties, individuals and organisations.
He said no individual or group had the authority to form a force to protect itself unless it was authorised by the State, and urged police commanders to enforce the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) and bring offenders to book.
The Minister gave the directive at the Police Regional Commanders Conference at the National Police Headquarters in Accra on Friday.
He expressed concern about the growing practice of groups forming forces for self-protection, describing it as illegal and unacceptable.
Mr Mubarak also directed Service commanders to stop the unauthorised recording and circulation of videos and other content showing recruits undergoing training at police schools.
He said the practice compromised the privacy, dignity and security of trainees and risked undermining the image and standards of the Police Service.
“Our training schools are institutions of discipline, professionalism and service. They must not become platforms for content that compromises the privacy, dignity or security of trainees,” he said.
The Minister urged commanders to ensure that officers and trainers understood the seriousness of the directive and put appropriate controls in place.
Mr Mubarak announced plans by the government to introduce technology-driven innovations to improve policing, including TRAFITECH, an automated system for enforcing road traffic laws expected to be operational by the end of 2026.
He said more than 700 Digital Enrolment Stations under the National Criminal Automated Biometric Identification System were also expected to be deployed nationwide by the end of 2026.
Mr Mubarak assured the Police Service of government support and resources but stressed that commanders would be held to high standards of accountability, integrity and professionalism.
He urged them to use the conference to make decisions that would strengthen public confidence and ensure that the Police Service met the expectations of Ghanaians.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the conference came at a time when Ghanaians were demanding a Police Service that was visible, professional, competent, just and trusted by the communities it served.
He said the Police must move beyond reacting to crime to preventing it, while enforcing the law in a manner that upheld justice and earned public trust.
Mr Yohuno said the Police formed part of the wider national security architecture and that effective cooperation with other security agencies was essential.
He further noted that the Police Administration, in collaboration with the National Security Council, had arranged for a resource person to take participants through the amended Security and Intelligence Act, 2026 (Act 1168), as part of efforts to strengthen security cooperation.
The IGP stressed that the transformation of the Police Service would not come through speeches, conferences or directives from Accra, but through the leadership commanders exercised every day.
He urged commanders to use the conference to reflect, set high standards and make decisions that would strengthen public confidence in the Service.
Mr Yohuno added that Ghanaians were watching with hope for a Police Service they could be proud of.
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
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