The Office of the Special Prosecutor has commenced investigations into the recruitment of cadet officers at the Ghana Police Academy.
A statement from the office said the investigations would focus on “the use of office for profit, abuse of office, abuse of power, favouritism, nepotism, victimisation and the selection of unqualified persons” in the recruitment processes.
The release comes in the wake of news that some personnel are allegedly involved in recent bullion van attacks in the country.
The arrest of these four officers sparked discussion on the recruitment process, being a contributing factor for personnel engaging in such criminal activities.
The argument is that many officers join the service by paying hefty amounts to intermediaries, who are said to secure protocol placement for their contacts.
On March 9, the four police officers arrested were hauled before an Accra Circuit Court for their individual roles in recent bullion van attacks.
Together with one civilian, the cops are to answer to charges of an attempt to commit a crime, robbery and abetment.
The plea of the four – Constable Yaro Afisu Ibrahim, Constable Albert Ofosu, Constable Richard Boadu and Constable Rabiu Jambedu – were not taken.
They are to reappear on 28 March 2022.
The government recently gave clearance to recruit personnel into the various security agencies, with 5,000 people earmarked for the Ghana Police Service.
The processes have not been devoid of scams.
In 2021, a police officer, Sergeant Kennedy Asomani, was hauled before the Accra Circuit Court for duping 44 persons of GH¢100,000 with the promise of enlisting them into the service.
Ahead of the recruitment exercise for the police this year, the administration issued a stern warning to fraudsters who target job seekers to stay off its upcoming recruitment process.
The acting Director-General of the Public Affairs Directorate of the service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwesi Ofori, had said in an interview that “any fraudster who wants to take advantage of the publication of the Ghana Police Service 2021 recruitment process to swindle people will be dealt with ruthlessly according to the law.”
He urged interested parties seeking to join the service to be vigilant and report any scammer who used illegitimate means and social media platforms to swindle unsuspecting people.
“The public must be wary of advertisers or persons requesting an upfront fee for processing your applications. A genuine advertiser or employer will not ask you for money.
“The fraudsters also request for money transfer. Nobody should part with money through any middleman to facilitate his or her recruitment into the police service,” ACP Ofori said.
He said the public must also take note of scammers who requested non-work-related personal information, such as “your appearance or marital status”.
“A recruiter should only need to meet the general requirements specified in the publication,” he added.
He reiterated that the police had not contracted any middleman for recruitment processes.
“Any person who claims to be selling recruitment forms should be ignored. We are not selling any recruitment forms for the process,” he cautioned.