Robbery has decreased, according to police

Robbery has decreased, according to police
Story: Mary Mensah
THE incidence of robbery declined in the country for the first half of this year,  the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police Prosper Agblor, has stated.
He said a total of 584 robbery incidents were recorded from January to June, this year as against 684 recorded last year, representinga decrease of14.6 per cent.
Addressing the press  in Accra yesterday, Mr Agblor said statistics indicated that averagely three cases of armed robbery were recorded daily from January to June, 2011.
He said the Ashanti Region topped the list with 176 robbery incidents, followed closely by Greater Accra, 113;  Central with 94, Tema, 56; Brong Ahafo, 34; followed by the other regions, with the Upper East recording the least of four.
He said 191 persons connected with robberies were arrested over the period and 14 lives were lost through robbery, adding that out of the number, 10 persons including one policeman were innocent victims, while four were armed robbers.
Mr Agblor said 183 vehicles were on record as having been snatched from various drivers and road users over the period and out of this number, 81 had been recovered by the police, while strenuous efforts were underway to recover the rest.
He said 50 robbery victims were injured over the period and not less than 33 of the arrested robbers had so far been convicted by the law courts, while 120 firearms were seized by the police over the period under review.
According to the Director-General, there were crime-prone areas where robbers always operated in almost all the regions and the police had intensified night and day patrols in those areas.
Mr Agblor said to enhance investigation of cases by the CID, the Police Administration with the assistance of the Spanish government had introduced the Automated Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS) and so far 3,500 data had been automated.
 He said with funds provided by the European Union, the Forensic Laboratory of the service had been modernised with the addition of a DNA laboratory and a ballistics section that can examine all kinds of firearms.
He assured members of the public that the police were on top of the crime situation and had put in place prudent strategies to ensure that people went about their normal duties without fear or favour.
The Director-General advised the driving public, especially commercial drivers, to develop the habit of looking into their driving mirrors as they drove to monitor the vehicles driving behind them so that in case they were being trailed they could quickly drive to a nearby police station to report.
He reminded the media and the public that  the reward system introduced by the current police administration was still in force, adding that any person with a credible information that would lead to the arrest of an armed robber would be adequately rewarded.