RDF TAMALE TRAINING

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale.

The establishment of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in the Ghana Police Service is to instil more discipline and professionalism into the personnel to enable them to withstand and combat demonstrations and crowd control effectively in the country, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, has explained.
He noted that over the years, the police had gone through a lot of challenges in the discharge of their duties that had attracted public condemnation and noted that the setting up of the RDF would enable the personnel to deal with people in a ‘‘more professional and pragmatic way in this era of contemporary policing”.
Mr Acheampong was speaking in a speech read on his behalf by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Northern Regional, Mr Ephraim Okoe Brakatu, during the passing out of 500 trainees of the RDF for the northern sector in Tamale at the weekend.
They were taken through intervention and maintenance of order techniques, demonstrations, practical police duties, arrest, handcuffing, search, patrols and escorts in the two-week exercise.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, and some senior police officers.
Mr Acheampong noted that the deployment of personnel under the unit would be based on the principles of availability, mobility, discipline and professionalism and that all their operations would be based on defined rules and methodology devoid of trial and error.
The IGP observed that the training of the personnel was borne out of the successful outcome of the three earlier established batches of RDF trainees in Accra and Kumasi.
‘‘The impressive and sterling performance by the three groups has made it possible to establish one here in the northern sector to handle all operational aspects of the three northern regions in a more professional manner,’’ he further intimated.
Mr Acheampong said since the establishment of the unit in Accra and Kumasi, the personnel had chalked up a lot of successes in the management of football matches, political rallies, demonstrations, and student and industrial riots among others in those cities.
The IGP also observed that the training was timely as the nation was preparing to host the African Cup of Nations.
‘‘This tournament is going to bring all kinds of behaviour which may be contrary to the Ghanaian norms and values for which reason you are expected to deal with all these problems professionally without incurring the displeasure of our guests,’’ he cautioned.
Alhaji Idris commended the security services for their contribution to the prevailing peace and unity in the region and indicated that the area was very stable and ready to host the Ghana 2008 tournament.
He, therefore, urged the personnel to step up their efforts in ensuring a successful tournament, stressing, ‘‘We want Tamale to stand out as a unique city before, during and after the games.