Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng, the Public Relations Officer of the Upper West Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service has reiterated the police’s commitment to ensuring that armed robbery, thievery; particularly motorbike theft are reduced to the barest.
As part of strategies to do this, the police has reiterated its decision to disallow the transportation of 2 people on a single motorbike after 9 pm.
Chief Inspector Ohene Boateng explained that the police has taken into cognisance the Modus Operandi (MO) of the robbers and realized that they use motorbikes for robberies. To manage the situation, the police would not allow two people use a single motorbike after 9 pm unless with the express permission of police patrol teams who may be out at night to increase visibility.
He said this would not however be done in isolation. The police, he insisted, would also not tolerate riders who use unregistered motorbikes, ride without helmets or use mobile devices while riding.
He said this when he spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, today, Thursday, May 19, 2022.
“We have realized that they [the thieves] have re-strategized. That is why the police have had to re-echo that. Two persons should not be on a motorbike after 9pm.”
“The police, we patrol both day and night. If we stop you and you are able to stop, then you explain your movement to the police and it is laudable, we will allow you to go. If we even realize that you are going to a place that is awkward or not safe, we have to escort you to the place you are trying to go to.”
“If two people are on a motorbike, a husband and a wife, or you pick someone who has fallen sick and you are riding with the person to the hospital, during the wee hours, the police would stop you and then you have to tell the police why you are moving at that particular time. If there is a way that the police can escort you to a nearby hospital or assist in any way, we have the mandate of putting the person in the police vehicle and sending the person to the hospital while you follow,” he said.
It would be recalled that the Upper West Regional Police Command issued a stern warning discouraging 2 individuals from using a single motorbike after 9pm. The Police has also warned riders who use their mobile phones while riding and those who ride without helmets to be cautious, as they would be brought to book.
The Upper West Regional Police Command also said as part of measures to prevent motorbike theft, the police would not tolerate excuses when dealing with users who ride unregistered motorbikes.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Upper West Regional Police Command, Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng and copied to A1 Radio.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
