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Dear list,
I’ve read this message and got surprised ,so I wouldlike to share the
article with you.
Regards
Vinod Benjamin
ModernGhana.com, Ghana
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
It's Not A Joke: The NeedFor Blind Officers In GhanaPolice Service
By Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi, NJ, USA
Feature Article - Wed, 05Dec 2007
ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE BLINDPOLICE OFFICERS HAVE UNIQUE GIFTS TO FIGHT CRIMES?
For surveillance andforensic purposes, Ghana Police Service needs blind police
officers in its rankand file to enable it to fight crimes effectively.
Those in the law enforcementand crime fighting businesses know that ninety-five
percent of crimescommitted, or about to be committed are solved by using
ninety-five percent ofthe three basic human senses-----the nose, the ear and
the eye. The rest isjust a raw gut and personal intuition. These have been the
arsenals in thetrade since crimes were invented by humankind. However, losing
one of thesesenses doesn't and shouldn't necessarily disqualify one from being
an activeand effective crime fighter.
In fact, a blind person iscompensated by nature to filter information more
accurately with the ear than asighted person. The blind sense of smelling is
higher than those of us who havesight.
The upsurge andproliferation of global illicit- drug trafficking and terrorism,
increase inorganized intercontinental crimes and the quest of some few selfish
individualswho want to get rich quicker without any sweat , are making Ghana to
have morethan its share of criminal activities than anticipated. The effect of
this isthat, our State security apparatus have been stretched to an
unprecedentedlimit.
The fact on hand now is thatusing the natural weapons like: the ears, the eyes,
the nose and personalintuition are just as effective as the modern day
technologies. These old, butjust discovered natural crime fighting techniques
have been tried in Belgium and the Netherlands. These countries areusing
specialized blind officers in transcribing and analyzing
surveillancerecordings-wiretapping and eavesdropping. It is believed that the
blind arevery good in linguistic and have the capability to learn different
languagesand sounds with much ease. They have very superb abilities to hear
like anelephant and can also have a memory comparable to the computer and
ability toretain and recall information at a faster speed. It's believed that
hearing isthe fastest vehicle for memorization of detailed events.
Ghanahas many brilliant blind persons in its higher institutions of learning.
Thoseof you who have had the opportunity to share learning environment with
theblind will realize that they are very powerful in the use of their
othersenses.
This article is to challengethe Ghana Police Service (GPS) to effectively
harness this abundance resourceto fight local and international crimes. In
these days and age, it will be easyto recruit and set-up a blind officers unit,
with very reliable Global Positionsystem (GPS) and voice -activated devices.
There are also specially equippedcomputers with Braille key boards and software
that translates images on thecomputer screen into sound with the aim of
reducing the blind officers'physical limitations.
Come next January, a lot offoreigners and all kinds of criminal elements will
descend on Ghana for thegames. Wouldn't it be prudent for the Ghana Police
Service to "plant"blind police officers at our stadiums, to monitor criminal
activities withtheir "listening devices"? In the dog-eat-dog crime
-fightingbusiness world any little advantage over the perpetuator would worth
more thantons of gold.
The use of blind officers'challenges and rewards:
1) Most surveillancerecordings have loud background noise; a typical example
was the tape in thealleged cocaine case. Analyzing such tapes requires highly
trained ears toprocess and screen out the voices and valued evidential
contents. Blindofficers can make this task very easy and cost effective.
2) Blind officers would bevery dedicated to their jobs assignments because they
would be compelled toprove their skills to their sighted colleagues.
3) Using the blind officersin the administrative work in the service would
ultimately free up the sightedmanpower, so that GPS can deploy the sighted cops
in other physically demandingtasks, such as crowd control, patrols and many
other critical proactive andreactive modules.
4) Forensic police workwould be enhanced if the blind police officers are used.
5) Most major crimes aresolved with forensic and surveillance tools, therefore
using the blind policeofficers would be a win, win situation for the nation and
the Police Service.
The challenges of usingblind police officers are more of social problems than
physical one. Somesighted officers would find it hard to work with the blind
officers because ofthe fear of not knowing how to relate to them.
The society has a stigmaattached to any physically challenged person; therefore
it makes it verydifficult for people to see other capabilities of a handicapped
person.
However, this ignorance orstigma could be minimized if proper sensitivity
programs are adopted for thesighted officers and the Ghanaian society. People's
attitudes could be changedwhen a blind officer shows his determination,
usefulness and willingness infighting crimes and other critical skills, other
than what we have been made toknow ----- the basket weaving, singing and
begging along the streets of ourcities.
One doesn't care who savesand protects his or her life and property. The only
thing is to have a safesociety free of miscreants and criminals. Ghana Police
Service needs all thebrains it can access and if a blind person can do the job
so be it.
I know hiring very brilliantblind police officers is not happening in Ghana
anytime soon. But, in itsplace, we will have officers who were recruited with
"politicalconnections." Those were the ones who were not fit to do the job they
wereemployed to do. Some of these recruits are sometime dumped on the
Servicewithout observing the lay down recruitment procedures- back ground
check,character assessment and intellectual capacity.
Hmm... How do I put itdelicately? The Ghana Police is usually used by the
politicians because itsleaders of the past failed to be professionals. They
were to a large extentseen as bed- fellows of the political systems, such that
they found it verydifficult to challenge the politicians or the need to reject
such unwholesomeparty sympathizers who were rewarded for the sake of "job- for-
the- boysand girls"
In fact, a large number ofthese undesirable elements are those who cause much
embarrassment to themajority hard -working officers, of the Police Service. My
apprehension is thatthese "half- baked" officers are those who will surely make
fun ofthe idea of bringing blind officers on board. In addition, they are those
whowill continue to make bad name for the rest of the hard
-workingofficers-including those serving excellently in the AU and UN Missions.
I'msure these bad -apples will definitely pad-lock the recruitment system
toprevent the Ghana Police from hiring the Blind officers.
By the way, is the GPSdeveloping a documentary on the activities of its
officers serving all over theworld so that the Ghanaians can appreciate what
their Police officers are doingoutside Ghana?Are you aware that Ghanahas the
largest police contingent serving in any peace- keeping mission in theentire
world? It's a plus for the nation, isn't it?
Mr. IGP, you are on top ofyour task, with the few hitches notwithstanding. But
try and get to the apex byexploring this option which is now available, as one
of the modern ways offighting crime.
Since the Police Service isinfested with some officers devoid of integrity and
dedication to their duties,injecting a new breed of officers into the Service
could change things aroundand make the Police redeem its deflated reputation.
One more thing: when is thePolice Service going to make use of dogs as part of
its crime -fightingarsenals?
Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi
NJ, USA
* The Author is a Socialcommentator and the founder of Adu-Gyamfi Youth
Empowerment, Educational andApprenticeship Foundation.
Source/Credits: KwakuAdu-Gyamfi
http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/NewsArchive/news_details.asp?menu_id=1&id=VFZSUk5VMVVWVFU9
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