Sir Robert Peel, acknowledged as the father of modern policing in the world, stated more than a century ago that the Police are the Public and the Public are the Police. This axiom underscores the fundamental principle that the fight against crime in our society requires a kind of symbiotic relationship between the people in various communities and the Police. A relationship that is characterized by sincere and genuine efforts on the part of the Police to exhibit attitudes and behaviours that recognise the indispensable role well meaning and law abiding members of the community can play in frustrating the efforts of criminals. It also involves identifying strategies that can make our communities safer. Criminologists, social scientists and law enforcement administrators had long recognised this principle. The concept of Community Policing as an alternate Policing philosophy that gets the Police and the public working together to solve crime problems, address community safety challenges and adopt measures to improve on the quality of life of members of the community thus became one of the principal tenets of democratic policing. Community policing has therefore become a popular Policing and crime prevention strategy implemented by many Police organizations all over the world. The Ghana Police Service recognised the Community Policing concept some five years ago and set up the Community Policing Unit as the main implementing department that has the responsibility of identifying and mainstreaming the concept as one of the core functions of the Ghana Police Service. The unit has since been engaged in raising awareness among Police personnel as well as the public about the principles, goals and concept of Community Policing. These include building Police-Community partnership where the local Police are encouraged to involve the community in the quest for better crime prevention and control. It also involves the local Police indentifying and working with well-meaning members of a community in order to make crime a very unattractive venture. The Community Policing Unit is also engaged in School, workplace and Community crime prevention and safety education. Neighbourhood Watch Concept The Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is a simple, practical, community friendly crime prevention and personal safety initiative that the Ghana Police service had adopted more than two decades now. The Ghana Police Service introduced the scheme in the late 1980’s after a Police Officer who attended a course in the USA saw its effectiveness in crime prevention. Reports and testimonies from serving and retired Police officers and members of the public attest to the immense benefits the Police, businesses, schools and communities derived from it. The scheme served as a rallying point for the Police and the community in tackling crime problems. It also fostered the spirit of good neighbourliness and revived the communal spirit among both the old and young. So popular was the scheme that by the late 1990s and even to the early 2000 almost every community in our cities, towns and villages had a neighbourhood watch committee. Sadly, most of these committees have become moribund, perhaps due to administrative lapses on the part of the Police; lethargy on the part of the communities; lack of resources and certain misconceptions and miscommunication about the modalities of its operation. Some of the misconceptions about the scheme were that it was to be a source of employment and that the Ghana Police would be responsible for funding all aspects of the programme. This unfortunate misconception created a certain level of apathy between both police personnel as well as members of the community. Judging from the current pervasive nature of crime and the fear it has generated, it has become more imperative and urgent for the Police and all crime haters to pick up the pieces and oil the wheels of the nighbourhood watch train to bring it back on its tracks. Crime and safety issues have become a major source of concern to everybody. Businesses, schools, workplaces, individuals including politicians, public officials, businessmen, the young and old, women and children etc have not been spared the scourge of criminal attacks leading to a chorus of public apprehension and pressure on the Police to do something about the situation. We all know that it is the statutory responsibility of the Police to prevent crime and maintain order in the Country. We all know that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana also enjoins every citizen to co-operate with lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order but of course, the greater responsibility lies with the Police. On the other hand it also true that for the Police or any other security agency to be more effective, public support and cooperation is a fundamental requirement to enable the Police to undertake this public service. A crime pattern analysis for the past two months show that the Police and other security agencies with support from policy makers have managed to put a thumb on some of these criminal activities especially violent crimes such as armed robbery but this should not give room for complacency! There is more work to do! Analyses of the crime trends in Ghana indicate that criminals and criminally minded persons are regularly contriving schemes and strategies and looking for opportunities to perpetrate their acts. Most of these criminals who are in their youthful ages are very agile and have a misdirected enthusiasm in using modern technology and new methods to commit various criminal offences. The good news, however, is that there are equally better and innovative ways to prevent some of these crimes, make them unattractive and unrewarding and increase the chances of detection. After all no criminal enjoys being caught, they will want to commit the offence and get away with it! One of the sure strategies for checking these criminal activities is the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. It is important to distinguish this activity from the Neighbourhood Watchdog Committees. The Police introduced the Neighbourhood watchdog committee in the 1990s as an internal control mechanism to check human rights abuses. Members of this committee paid unannounced visits to Police stations to check congestions in Police cells. These Committees have long seized to exist and should not be confused with the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, which is a partnership between the Police and the Community to address community crime problems. How the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Works Many countries have accepted the scheme as one of the most successful crime prevention initiatives. It has a basic value that underlies our time tested traditional social structures - good neighbourliness. The scheme functions at two levels: - establishing channels of communication and liaison among households, businesses, schools etc situated in the same neighbourhood - establishing channels of communication between the local Police and the local community concerning crime and safety problems in the neighbourhood. The objective is to empower and encourage people to get involved in improving their personal and community safety, by creating and maintaining regular and mutually beneficial relations between Community members and the Police. Neighbourhood watch schemes also have the potential of increasing awareness about crime and its prevention, awareness about police procedures and the services the Police can offer. It is an avenue for raising awareness and promoting crime reduction methods, promoting environmental security, assisting the e.g. the vulnerable e.g. the elderly, children in the community, improving security at the workplace, at schools, home and at public places. The other benefits of the scheme are that it can help reduce youth delinquency and youth crime by deflecting the youth from various social vices through the concerted efforts of the community and the Police How to set up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme To set up a neighbourhood watch scheme in your community involves two simple practical steps. Either the Police or the Community could initiate it. The Police Officer responsible for a Police District or Station or a Community Policing liaison Officer are expected to assess the crime situation within his jurisdiction, identify well-meaning individuals or groups living in a community and engage them in discussions on how to improve on community safety. This could eventually lead to the setting up of the scheme with the appointment of volunteers as coordinators, zonal leaders and a steering committee. These volunteers are to work with the Police in identifying and discussing crime and safety problems in the community and examine innovative ways of addressing them. In this way, members of the community are involved in bringing about improved community safety and bringing to justice those who break the law. Again, the overriding significance of this scheme is that solutions to crime problems come from various segments of the community including the Police and not a top down approach where the Police only react to crimes when they are occurring or had occurred. The neighbourhood watch scheme therefore represents a new paradigm shift or way of thinking where collective initiative by the Police and the community to reduce crime and make the community a safer and civil place are encouraged. This collective initiative does not mean being soft on crime, it does not mean communities making their own laws that are different from the laws in our statute books, it does not also mean influencing the Police to overlook crimes committed by members of the neighbourhood committee or overlook crimes committed by relations of members of the committee! A proactive crime prevention strategy requires initiative and partnership between the Police and the public. Do you have any ideas, suggestions etc to make your community a safer place? Do you have frequent or potentially harmful situations in your community? Do you have any safety or crime problem that you expect the Police to address in your community, school, workplace etc? Contact the Community Policing Unit now! Location: No. 57th Avenue Extension, Ridge, Accra Tel Nos.021-930531-3(During working hours) E-mail: communitypolicingghana@gmail.com