Abstract:
Maintenance of internal security in Ghana is the main responsibility of the Police Service. It has been emphasized by several scholars that the environment within which the Police operates is of great concern to civil society. It was based on this rationale that a study was conducted. The accommodation policy of the Ghana Police Service and Crime were reviewed. Close and open ended questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. A total of 183 Police personnel were interviewed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to generate tables, percentages and cross tabulations. Data collected were presented and discussed both qualitatively and qualitatively. Findings from the study revealed that 53% of the Police personnel have been provided with accommodation in barracks and rented quarters. However, out of the total number of personnel provided with accommodation, 31.7% of the personnel live in Police accommodation within the Suame Division. It was again found out that, recruitment and transfer of personnel do not correlate with provision of Police accommodation. The findings of the study revealed that, 46.9% of Police personnel live outside the Suame Division. These Police officers travel an average distance of 12.96 km before getting to their places of work which affect their duties negatively. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: i) government should give approval for the Police Administration to enter into Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement to help address the accommodation challenges facing the Police Service in Suame Division. Secondly, the Police Administration should use police acquired lands as equity to obtain private financing to develop residential facilities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our most sincere gratitude goes to God Almighty for His Grace and Favour.
Our supervisor Prof. S.E. Owusu who supported and guided us in undertaking this study deserves a great dose of gratitude.
We would also like to express our appreciation to the officers of the Ashanti Regional and Suame Divisional Commands of the Ghana Police Service for giving us all the necessary information for the successful completion of the study.
A big thank you goes to all the lecturers of the Department of Planning and Development, Christian Service University College, for their contribution.
Finally, our appreciation goes to all our course mates. God abundantly bless them.
