A critical analysis of the Ghana Police Service and use of force in promoting security

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Twumheme, P., 2022. A critical analysis of the Ghana Police Service and use of force in promoting security. MPhil, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

This study examines the Ghana Police Service's mode of operations with particular attention to the use of force and how it could be minimised during police-citizens encounter. To achieve the research objectives, the study adopted a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews and observations to critically examine the current procedures used by the Ghana Police Service (GPS) to: (i) determine whether police officers who use force or excessive force are held accountable for their actions; and (ii) identify challenges faced by the GPS while promoting security. A total of 60 participants were interviewed, comprising 20 police officers (senior and lower ranks), 30 civilians who have had encounter(s) with the police and 10 National Peace Council members. Participants were purposively selected from four regions of the country. Data obtained from the interviews together with the observations were analysed using thematic analysis. It emerged from the study that incidences of police use of force and reported cases of violence during police-citizens encounter have become a serious matter of concern to every Ghanaian, with the government and the police being heavily blamed for not doing sufficient to protect its citizens. However, findings drawn from the study revealed that police use of force can be minimised if there are stringent measures of enforcement such as regular training and prevention of use of force, revision of Legislative Instruments (LIs) according to modern standards, adherence to standard operating procedures, regular in-service training and proper accountability mechanisms to deal with police misconduct. Thus, the study aims to fill the existing knowledge gap in the literature to critically address the relative absence of data in this study area in Ghana. It is intended that the study results will enhance democratic policing and serve as a repository of knowledge for future research into the country’s security strategy to minimise police use of force.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Twumheme, P.
Date:	February 2022
Rights:	The copyright in this work is held by the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author. The data that support the findings are registered in the NTU Data Archive at DOI: 10.17631/rd-2022-0004-ddat. Due to the nature of this research, the participants in this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available to be shared.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	08 Nov 2022 16:31
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2022 16:31
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/47356