Prophet
Stephen Adom ,
Adom Prayer and Healing Ministry
Armed robbery has been in existence for a long time, but these days the situation has been on the increase, creating a state of fear among the public.
One factor that has brought about this situation is the increase in population which has brought in its wake a lot of socio-economic problems.
At the family level, while family heads spend much of their time in finding solutions to basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing and how to educate their children and members of the extended family, very little attention on the other hand is given to the training of children on good habits and morality.
When children are properly trained, it becomes part of their value systems and integrated into their existence and this guides how they live and conduct themselves in the larger society.
Of late many of the youth give birth without thinking about the means to cater for their offspring. Having been without the basic needs in life, this provides room for such children to fend for themselves at very tender ages.
The streets become their abode and it is here that they learn the tricks of petty thievery and later graduate into armed robbers.
The present situation of unemployment, some section of the youth seem to make armed robbery a profession and attack innocent people without any sense of regret.
Some in responsible positions also use their influence to indulge in corrupt practices and acquire wealth at the expense of the state and this seems to be a motivating consideration for the youth, especially those who are unemployed, to indulge in armed robbery and also get rich.
To address the problems of armed robbery, Ghanaians need to be conscious of their personal security and that of their neighbours.
Many others have become absent-minded and therefore while walking or working on the streets and travelling in vehicles, they make themselves vulnerable to armed robbers.
The public erroneously think that it is only the police who have the responsibility to fight armed robbers, this is wrong.
It is time that communities rallied their youth to combat armed robbery. Community watchdog committees should be revived in the country and awareness created for the public to make us conscious of the menace of armed robbery. I think if this is done it would be a first step in keeping armed robbers away.
Mr Stephen Mensah Opoku Agyemang,
Ashanti Regional Stool Lands
Officer.
Armed robbery has been on the increase at an alarming rate currently and one always has to look over the shoulder to see if he or she is being followed.
The rate at which people from the rural communities are trooping to the urban centres to find jobs is an indication that there is unemployment in the rural areas.
Ghana cannot be compared to the advanced countries where the unemployed are offered financial support to enable them to meet the basic needs of life including food, accommodation and clothing.
Since the unemployed have to eat, dress, sleep and address other social needs, some have chosen the easy way out and prefer to attack people with guns for their monies and property.
Others engage in crime because notwithstanding the fact that they are not employed, they have developed a taste for glamorous living and want to drive in expensive cars and drink expensive wines. As a result, they are motivated to indulge in armed robbery to finance their acquired tastes.
Some who are addicted to drugs also have to engage in armed robbery to be able to finance their drug deals which are very expensive to maintain.
Armed robbery undermines the security of the state. It also affects investment drive in the country because those who would like to invest are sometimes scared of being attacked and robbed of their lifetime savings.
The public is also not secured and many fear of being attacked and robbed at gun and knife points.
To address the problem, the government should collaborate with the private sector and create jobs to absorb the teeming unemployed youth.
The law enforcement agencies should also be up and doing to address the menace in order to restore peace.
Theresa
Abuabu Dadzie,
Teacher, Oforikrom M/A JHS.
If news from both the print and electronic media on highway robbery and public places are anything to go by, then I can say that the spate of armed robbery in the country is on the increase.
The constant attack on innocent Ghanaians and sometimes foreigners at gunpoint is quite alarming.
Sometimes the armed robbers go to the extent of killing their victims after robbing them.
Others rape their victims, thereby putting them in a state of trauma.
It is very unfortunate that the youth, who are considered to be the future leaders of the country, are the ones actively engaged in armed robbery.
The lack of opportunity for some of them to re-write their final examination at the junior high school (JHS) level, the absence of proper parental care and poverty, among others, are the ills that drive some of them into armed robbery.
Armed robbery attacks sometimes lead to premature death of victims, thereby denying that nation of people with great potential and who were contributing meaningfully towards sustaining our national development. Others are also killed in cold blood, leaving their dependants with no one to care for them.
Some of the victims who lose valuable items and substantial amounts of money are also traumatised under the circumstances to the extent that they go insane while their dependants drop out of school.
To control the spate of armed robbery in the country the Ministry of Education should offer opportunity to JHS graduates who fail to re-sit their examinations to prove themselves capable.
Graduates who have Technical and Vocational skills but fail to enter senior high school should be introduced to vocational training to enable them to further develop their potential.
The police should also be motivated to intensify their patrol on the highways and residential areas and the public encouraged to provide information to the police on suspected robbers.
The government should endeavour to provide logistics and equipment to the police to enable them to effectively combat armed robbery in the country.
Michael Adusei Poku,
Assembly Member, Dadiesoaba
Electoral Area
There is no gainsaying the fact that the crime rate in the Kumasi metropolis has gone up. I was personally a victim of armed robbery recently.
I think security in the metropolis should be strengthened. In addition, the practice of the establishment of community watchdog should be encouraged and made to work hand in hand with the security agencies.
Areas that do not have watchdog committees should be made to form one.
It is important to note that the security agencies alone cannot protect all of us and that there is the need for us to show concern and offer alternatives.
Efforts must also be made by the government and other well-meaning citizens to assist the youth to find gainful employment. This is because many of the crimes are committed by the youth who do not have any form of employment.
Parents ought to take the education of their children seriously, while school dropouts should be assisted to learn a trade.
I believe if these things are done, the youth would be discouraged from engaging in criminal activities.
Kwame Asare Boadu,
Ashanti Regional Editor, Daily Graphic
Any objective observer would not dispute the fact that the crime rate in Kumasi has gone up in recent times. It is unfortunate though that the situation is being politicised.
Crime is of great concern to all of us living in Kumasi and I think something serious ought to be done about it.
We hear of taxi drivers conniving with others to rape women; armed robbers attacking people left and right, and mobile phone snatchers doing their own thing.
Interestingly, some of the men engaged in acts like armed robbery and mobile phone snatching sometimes use women and girls as baits to attack their victims. It is no wonder therefore that the majority of prisoners are the youth.
These are people who should have been working to promote our national development, yet their criminal acts have resulted in their incarceration.
Some people argue that the rising crime wave is a result of unemployment. But I beg to differ. The fact that there are no jobs does not mean one should steal.
No government on earth can provide jobs for all the people of the country. The government’s responsibility is to create the congenial environment for the private sector to thrive so that they could complement its efforts in creating jobs for the people.
The police are doing their best to tackle the problem of crime, but it looks like their efforts have not been enough to address the challenges. However, the police can be excused because they do not have the resources to deal with the situation.
The former government did some work by providing the police with some logistics to do their work. It is my hope that the current government will build on that to ensure that the police undertake their work without much difficulty.
Superintendent Michael Nketia, Frempong, AshANTI REGIONAL POLICE HQRS.
The spate of armed robbery in the Ashanti Region has reduced considerably in recent times. Those crimes involving car and mobile phone snatching which topped the list of robbery cases in the metropolis did also reduce substantially.
Indeed, records show that the youth between the ages of 18 and 25 constitute the majority who are engaged in armed robbery. This age group is dominated by men while some women engaged in it are used as bait to deceive unsuspecting victims.
The use of hard drugs constitute a major driving force behind the activities of robbers as it makes them feel a sense of invincibility when they go about their nefarious and mostly nocturnal undertaking.
Lack of good parental care has also been identified as a cause that pushes many young persons into robbery.
Poverty, broken homes, peer pressure and unemployment are other factors that entice some young people into armed robbery.
As a result of the activities of armed robbers many law-abiding citizens have lost their properties. Some have been maimed in the process and this has given rise to the feeling of insecurity among a section of the population. This cripples businesses and undermines investments.
It is impossible to totally eliminate armed robbery but it could be reduced considerably. While the police would have to enhance its intelligence network, the public would also have to provide useful information that would enable the police to work effectively to control robbery.
Victims should assist the police in diverse ways in the prosecution of suspected robbers.
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