The work of the security agencies, particularly the Ghana Police Service, in fighting crime is not enviable, especially with the advent of the social media, which operates with the speed of light, coupled with the never-ending calamity of hoax stories.
The state agency in charge of internal safety, for some years now, has managed to penetrate and gain relevance on the internet to stay in touch with the citizenry, a situation which, hitherto, was not the case.
The public is informed about activities of the police, including arrest of lawbreakers, and education on security issues through the media.
Aside from that, the Ghana Police is quick to respond to what may seem as misinformation pertaining to an active investigation or lawful processes into cases of public interest in their abode.
The Chronicle is, therefore, impressed with the pace at which the office of the men and women in black keep the public in the know.
We are in awe, because social media does not deal with time or location, as would the traditional media, where information is given according to schedules.
On Thursday last week, we reported the cruel murder of a 25-year-old, Georgina Asor Botchwey, a nursing trainee, at Mankessim in the Central Region.
Her body was exhumed at the residence of Christopher Ekow Clarke, Tufuhene of Akwakrom, a suburb of Mankessim, after he and another alleged accomplice, Michael Darko, a pastor, allegedly conspired to kill the lady.
A police statement posted on their social media platforms said the two were arrested through a targeted intelligence investigation, after the deceased had gone missing for some weeks.
The police informed the public that Michael Darko, boyfriend of the sister of the deceased, was arrested, as Asor was last seen with him.
Michael then led the police to the residence of the Chief, where the two had buried the lady, after allegedly killing her.
The Thursday, September 22, 2022 release by the police concluded that the two accused were arraigned before the District Court II in Cape Coast, and had been remanded into police custody that day, to reappear before the court on Tuesday, October 4.
Shockingly, however, news broke over the weekend of the alleged death of the Chief in whose residence the deceased was buried.
The report, which was published on the online portal of a media house, did not name its source, but said the Chief was said to have taken in “some poisonous substance when he realised his arrest was imminent. Nana Clarke, it said, gave up the ghost Saturday afternoon.
Swiftly, the police updated their online platforms with a brief which debunked the earlier report of the death of one of the suspects.
According to the police the report was false, and that the two suspects were alive and in custody, and urged the public to treat the report with the contempt it deserved.
Considering the huge interest the public had developed on this barbaric act, it would have been weird to hear of the death of the Chief.
In any case, if the information was true, it would have been pregnant with hosts of questions for the police to answer on the back of their last Thursday’s statement.
The fake news said the Chief drank poison before he was arrested. Knowing how poison works, it would have been very surprising that he did not exhibit signs of un-wellness when arrested to face the court, and the subsequent remand on Thursday, only to be informed on Saturday, two days after his arrest, that he had died of poison.
Or that the police chose to hide such important information from the public.
The Chronicle would like to applaud the police for promptly responding to the fake news and giving clarification.
Acts like these are very essential in fighting crimes in this era of fake news, which now thrives effectively and quickly with the advent of social media.
We are not in any way closing our lenses on other state institutions taking advantage of their social media platforms to share information with the public.
However, we believe those institutions would spare us a moment to hail the Ghana Police Service on this particular issue.
We cannot also say that all public institutions are doing well with information sharing. The lack of it creates unnecessary suspicions and speculations and they must turn a new leaf.
