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Police Service a bit too lazy to carry out background checks on personnel – Dr. Norman
The President of the Institute of Security Disaster and Emergency Studies, Dr. Ishmael Norman, has accused the Ghana Police Service of being ‘a bit too lazy’ in keeping an eye on their personnel after recruitment.
According to him, the failure of the Service to monitor the activities and lifestyles of its members has enabled criminal elements within to flourish and fester.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, he noted that the Ghana Police Service has all the needed capacity to run background checks on their recruits and members, however, they have failed to do so.
“The Police has the mechanism, the modalities to do background check. So the recruitment process itself is a very normal way of recruiting mass groups of people. After you do the recruitment then you have to do the background check. This is what is missing.
“Even though they have the capacity, they have the modality, they have the organization to do the background check, they are a bit too lazy to do that job and so the professionalism that we expected the recruitment part of the police, the department to do, they have failed Ghanaians,” he said.
He was speaking in relation to the arrest and indictment of 6 police officers in the ongoing bullion van investigations.
Dr. Norman believes the 6 arrested might only be the tip of the iceberg of organized criminal gangs within the Police Service.
According to him, an independent investigation into the Police force starting from the Inspector General of Police to the lowest rank would unravel many skeletons and rid the Service of criminal elements.
Again, he stated that even though it is possible that criminal gangs have infiltrated the Police force through recruitment, it is also very possible that some of these criminal elements were only recruited into the gangs after entering the Service.
“I think it’s two sides of the same coin. Some of them might have been weaponised within the Police. If I’m doing operation and I see energetic, willing guys, crazy guys, I’ll pick them and then indoctrinate them to do it. And if they are already criminals I will also pick them. I think what is happening here is that we cannot really blame everything on the recruitment process,” he said.
“But if in fact they became weaponised while they were in the force, then it doesn’t matter if before they came to the police force they were preachers, men of God, men of mosque, Imams, and then when they got into the police force the attractions, the promises of windfall, the gaps within the police, the disciplinary issues within the police and there are huge disciplinary issues within the police,” he added.
Dr. Norman has thus called for a closer look at the Police’s own approach at surveilling its members in order to weed out corruption and crime from within.
“But let us not blame it on the recruitment. Let us look at what the Police does in order to surveil its own force. Let us see whether they test them for drug use. Let us see whether they spy on them for those that have all of a sudden they’re earning maybe 4,000 cedis a month but they’re driving a $150,000 vehicle or a 150,000 cedi vehicle then you have to know that these people are into some nefarious activities,” he said.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, together with members of the Police Management Board (POMAB), on April 17, 2026, decorated nineteen (19) senior officers who have been promoted to their next ranks based on the recommendations of the Police Council and approval of the President, John Dramani Mahama.
The ceremony, held at the National Police Headquarters in Accra, forms part of efforts to recognise merit, dedication, and long-standing service within the Ghana Police Service, while strengthening leadership across key operational and administrative levels.
The officers promoted from Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) to Commissioner of Police (COP) are Dr. Luke Asue-In-Yeng Zakpaa, Mr. Frederick Agyei, Mr. Duuti Tuaruka, Mr. Arthur Osei-Akoto, Mr. Darko Offei Lomotey, Mr. Eric Ken Winful, Mr. Barnabas Nambont Nasumong, and Mr. Desmond Owusu Boampong.
The IGP and members of POMAB congratulated the officers and urged them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the discharge of their duties.
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
