Police to make first degree minimum qualification for recruitment
- IGP, David Asante-Apeatu has hinted the service is considering setting the minimum educational requirement for entry into the Ghana Police Service at first degree
- Currently, the minimum requirement for entering the Police Service is a West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) certificate
- According to the the IGP recruiting better-educated officers are part of measures being discussed to improve a perceived lack of professionalism in the police service
Entry into the Ghana Police Service may soon require a minimum qualification of a degree, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, has said.
According to him, such a move is needed in order to weed out “bad apples” in the service.
Speaking to Accra-based Joy FM, the IGP said recruiting better-educated officers will help deal with the current challenges in the service.
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The minimum requirement to enter the Police service used to be a good Junior High School (JHS) Basic Education Certificate, however, it has been reviewed, with recruits now required to have good grades in the WASSCE.
He explained that the there is also the need to offer training and retraining for Police officers to keep them sharp.
“It is for us to start being proactive and make sure we do thing differently and embrace the community policing concept,” Mr. Asante-Apeatu said.
He added: “First of all, in our transformational agenda, we have listed certain things that we have to revamp. Training and retraining of our officers who are constantly on the job.
“We must also fire the bad apples because they are dangerous. Imagine that we had four-year degree holders only in the Ghana Police Service (GPS), won’t the Service change? It will definitely make a big change in the GPS.”
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He further stated that discussions are ongoing to raise the bar to first degree holders, adding that “it will be proper for us to keep on raising the bar higher”.
The IGP’s comments are in relation to a series of unprofessional conducts by Police officers.
In the last three weeks, several Police officers have been involved in one controversy after the other, leading to a public outcry.
Over a week ago, seven suspected armed robbers were gunned down by a team of Police officers as Asawase in the Ashanti region.
Last Friday, another police officer physically assaulted a nursing mother at a Midlands Savings and Loans branch at Shiashie,
Such incidents, the IGP said, means the Police Service must re-think its recruitment qualification, in a bid to churn out more professional officers.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
