Nana Oppong Ofosuhene, the Akwamuhene of Abesim, near Sunyani, has implored the Police Administration to conduct thorough background checks of people before they are recruited into the Ghana Police Service.
He said some police personnel in the country were creating a mess, soiling the image of the Service.
Nana Ofosuhene however gave assurance that traditional authorities were ever ready to collaborate with the Police to do the background checks.
This, he added, would also help to weed out criminals from the Police Service to brighten its image in the minds and eyes of the public.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the side-lines of a public sensitization forum on the Case Tracking System (CTS) held at Abesim, Nana Ofosuhene said the Police Administration must do broader consultations before recruiting personnel to bring sanity in the Service.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental organisation with support from Save Our Environment Foundation (SEF), its local partners organised the forum to sensitize the participants including artisanal workers, chiefs and queens, as well as traders and market women on the CTS.
Nana Ofosuhene said the people of the town were excited about the forum which had enlightened them and advised the organisers to extend it to adjoining communities for more people to benefit.
The CTS is integrated software that tracks criminal cases in the justice delivery system from inception to their disposition.
Launched in 2018, the project is being supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), while the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an NGO, is implementing the pilot project and the Sunyani, Abesim, and Atronie Police Stations are benefiting from the project.
Nana Ofosuhene noted many people were unaware about the operations of the Legal Aid Commission and called on the Commission to create public awareness for the local people to benefit from their activities.
He lauded the CTS, saying effective implementation of the system would improve the dwindling confidence in the nation’s justice sector institutions.
He described the implementation of the system as timely and called for intensified public education for improved awareness creation for Ghanaians to understand and support the project for the nation to derive the maximum benefits.
Mr Collins Osei, the Chief Executive Officer of SEF said under the CTS all key institutions within the justice sector would access cases reported by the CTS, to facilitate easier tracking to prevent undue delays in the prosecution of those cases.
Chief Inspector Veronica Amankwaah of the Abesim Police Station advised the people to be cautious of their personal security and inform the Police about the activities of criminals in the town to help control crime in the area.