The Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Dampare, has underscored the need for the security agencies and personnel to be humanistic in their approach to dealing with inmates or persons who are brought into police custody.
According to the distinguished police officer, upholding human dignity should at the heart of policing.
He reasoned that since anyone could be a potential suspect and susceptible to becoming a prisoner, there was the need for police officers and people within the security services to treat people with optimum dignity.
These observations were contained in a viral video making round on social media.
In a visit to one of the police stations, the Inspector General could be seen questioning a Station officer for keeping 25 persons in a congested cell.
He asked whether the said officer would be comfortable if he were among the 25 persons in the cell?
While struggling to stammer a justification for his action, Dr. Dampare butted in with the following call:
‘‘We have noticed a systemic issue and we want to address it. So be frank with us and stop that bold police mentality of defensiveness. It is not going to help anyone. You can’t put 25 people in that space,’’ the security capo charged.
‘‘What we want to say is that irrespective of whoever is involved, be it a suspect, criminal or convict, the humanity of that person is like ours and we cannot take the dignity of it out. We have to be very humanistic because it can happen to anyone of us,’’ Dr. Dampare added.
The deplorable state and insanitary conditions in Ghana’s prison yards remains a major antithesis to efforts at making prisons a true reformative centers.