ASP Avornokadzi addressing parishioners of theSt. Augustine Catholic Church Ashaiman while
other church leaders and police officers look on

The Ashaiman Police command has cautioned members of the public, especially those within its jurisdiction to be vigilantduring the Easter festivities and not fall into any ‘trap’ by criminals.

The Acting District Commander for the Ashaiman District Police Command, Asst. Supt. of Police (ASP), Mr. Isaac Avornokadzi disclosed that the Service has observed over the years that criminals like to take advantage of festive seasons such as Easter to carry out their activities on unsus­pecting members of the public.

In the light of this, he disclosed that the Service was undertaking a series of sensiti­sation exercises in churches and other social gatherings to caution the public to be extra careful during the period in order not to fall victims to the activities of criminals.

The aim is to have an incident-free festive period.

It was one of such exercises that took him to the St Augustine Catholic Church in Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) on Palm Sunday where he charged parishioners to be extra vigilant during the period to ensure their personal safety.

ASP Avornokadzi assured residents of Ashaiman that the police was poised to make the area uncomfortable for criminals in the Easter season and beyond.

He disclosed that several measures have been put in place to make personnel avail­able and visible to enhance their response time to calls placed to them.

He also urged members of the com­munity to be each other’s keeper by being concerned about what happens around others to ensure all were safe.

“Every member of the public must ob­serve and report anything unusual in their communities or around the neighbourhood. When you find something unusual, report it to the police immediately to ensure that criminals do not have a field day.”

He said the area would be a nogo area for criminals if residents report activities of criminals to the police freely.

He recalled occasions when some res­idents had failed to call the police when they observed that their neighbours were attacked.

He cautioned the public that when people were suspected to be engaging in criminal activities, they could do a citizen’s arrest and hand them over to the police for the right action to be taken.

“Don’t beat them. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Just bring them to us,” the Acting District Police Commander advised.

He encouraged the public to have confi­dence in the police because they are up to the task.

He advised the public to memorise the various police emergency numbers so that they could readily use them when under attack.

“Do not write it in your diary or save it on your phone alone,” he said, explaining that sometimes people under attack may not have the luxury to check from their diaries or phones to get the contacts.

 From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman