Chief Justice (CJ) Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, for his exceptional leadership skills, which is lifting the image of the Police Service.
She said: “I must say that I have found your leadership of the police extremely inspirational. I think it is only a blind person who would not have notice how much you have achieved in such a short time to rebrand the image of the police, to reinforce what ought to have known from the beginning that the police is the source of integrity, the source of protection, the source of help rather than the source of destruction.”
The Chief Justice made the statement during an engagement with the IGP and members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) in Accra, yesterday.
According to Justice Torkornoo, the Police Service and Judiciary had suffered the same fate over the years, in an apparent lack of trust from society, but was particularly happy that efforts were underway to change that narrative.
Justice Torkornoo noted that the two institutions shared certain things in common, especially the IGP’s vision of positioning the police administration to become the best institution in the country.
“I actually also have the dream of making the Judiciary the best institution in Ghana.” He adds, “I find your leadership inspiring. Your effort at presenting the police for who they are and who they ought to been seen as. I’m drawing inspiration from it. You leadership have been inspirational in the rebranding.”
She hoped the change would soon be felt and Ghana would be known for what it was, a first class world democracy.
The Chief Justice was also inspired by the creation of the Police TV, which she appealed to the IGP and his team to give them a slot to educate the public on justice delivery, what they ought to be doing and what they were doing.
Her Ladyship Torkornoo also boasted of how much the Judiciary had achieved over the years, saying it introduced reforms that had compelled efficiency and effectiveness in their work.
Additionally, the Judiciary had introduced specialised courts, automation and now moved to digitalisation – digitalising its records – and judicial trainings, which were focused on ethics and ethical standards in the manner in which they delivery justice.
Although the rest of the discussions were held behind closed doors, the CJ hinted that the discussions would focused on how prosecution could become efficient; how the police and judiciary could work together in training, especially in evidence gathering, and preservation.
In furtherance to that, Her Ladyship raised concerns over cyber security issues, saying: “I am, particularly nervous about fake marriage certificate, fake adoption orders, [and] lotto cases.”
She expressed concerns over how much the country was losing to parallel shadow industry, whereas neighbouring Ivory Coast was making a fortune from the same industry.
On his part, IGP Dr. Dampare said the engagement was one of such that would be held to find a common ground to serve the public better.
Selling his idea of making the police one of the best institutions in the country and beyond, he said he they can only make a difference if they act on the feedbacks from their major stakeholders and the public that they are serving.
He assured the justices that the administration was not approaching them with a defensive mindset but of guilt and shame to make things right and take praise where they desire.
