Xmas was Hitch-free ----- Police Administration

The just-ended Christmas festivities were without any major security hitches, the Ghana Police Service has said.
According to the Police Administration, the atmosphere throughout the country was peaceful and no serious crime was recorded during the season.
A few robbery cases were, however, reported, mainly in Accra and Kumasi, but the police said the situation was managed well to arrest the suspected criminals.
The Director-General of Police Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr John Kudalor, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra yesterday that the national capital and all the regional capitals were peaceful.
The only challenge, he said, had been the heavy traffic which usually characterised Christmas celebrations.
He said  in all the cases, personnel from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service were on hand to direct traffic to ensure sanity on the roads.
Mr Kudalor said the Police Administration rolled out a comprehensive and well-planned security arrangement for the Christmas season which came shortly after the general election of December 7.
He said the service stationed mobile patrol teams in communities nationwide in order to offer help to citizens or visitors in times of distress.
According to Mr Kudalor, to prevent robbers from attacking traders who had to travel to the national capital and the regional capitals to do some trading or shopping, police patrol vehicles were stationed at all vantage points at the various markets.
Additionally, all the major highways in the country, such as Accra to Kumasi, Aflao, Elubo, Paga, Koforidua, Hohoe and Takoradi, as well as Sunyani or Techiman to Tamale and Wa, were provided with 24-hour security patrols to ensure that members of the public got to their destinations safely.
Unlike in previous years when much attention was paid to strategising against the activities of criminals during the period, the service decided to strategise for the criminals, as well as provide the needed security for the citizenry to ensure that they celebrated the Yuletide peacefully.
As part of the security arrangements, the mobile patrol teams which were dispatched were visible throughout the country and that might have sent strong signals to the criminals that the intelligence searchlight was on them, tracking and monitoring all their nefarious activities.
Mr Kudalor warned criminals to, in their own interest and in the interest of peace and security in the country, abandon their plans, as the police knew their identities, movements and motives.
“They are constantly being monitored and will be crushed if they make any attempt to disrupt the peace,” he said.
“We should remember that we are all equal before the law and the law is no respecter of persons. We, as security officers, are charged by law to deal with crime and criminals,” he added.
Mr Kudalor said road crashes during festivities were of grave concern to the Police Service, as a result of which policemen were also dispatched on the highways, especially those that were accident prone, to check speeding, a major cause of the crashes on the roads.
He said the Police Administration had taken delivery of over 1,000 vehicles to enable the service to provide adequate and prompt security for Ghanaians.
He urged members of the public to report any suspicious activities within their communities by dialing the toll-free lines.