The Acting Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, has urged senior police officers who completed a course on Public Communication to serve as change agents and improve police-public relations.
He charged them to take pragmatic and innovative steps to implement the knowledge acquired to ensure professional standards in communicating with the public.
The Acting IGP said this in a speech read on his behalf at the closing ceremony of the training programme o in Accra.
The course was in two phases where 16 Senior Police Officers were trained as a trainer of trainees for one week, with 143 newly graduated Assistant Superintendents of Police going through a three-day course.
It was funded by the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP) of the European Union.
The programme’s objective is to build the capacity of participants on effective and ethical communication skills towards improved police-public relations.
Mr Oppong-Buanuh said for the Service to become a first-class institution, ethical communication is key to building a good police-public rapport, public confidence, trust and promote accountability and transparency in service delivery.
He urged the participants to impact positively with the knowledge acquired to improve the communication gap between the police and the public.
The ARAP has supported three departments of the Police Service: the Police Professional Standards Bureau, the Legal and Prosecutions, and the Public Affairs, to build their capacities and discharge their responsibilities in an efficient manner.
Mr Oppong-Boanuh appealed to the ARAP to continue to support the Police Service to roll out the training across the country.
Ms Ana Esther Sanchez Garcia, the Team Leader of ARAP, noted that effective communication was critical in ensuring peaceful police-public coexistence, hence the need to support the programme.
“Communicating with the citizenry is critical to the country’s democratic values and ensuring transparency and accountability,” she added.
A Facilitator, Steve Smith, said the participants were taken through topics including Promoting the Right Image, Responding to the Needs of Citizens, Engaging with the Local Community, and Campaign Planning.
He commended the officers for active participation in the programme, which would improve their operational performance.
Superintendent Alex Arkon, the Course Leader, commended the ARAP and the leadership of the Police Service for the training.
He said the course was practical and had improved their communication skills to relate positively with the public for mutual understanding. Participants were presented with certificates.
