Joseph Whittal, Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has admonished Ghana Police Service employees to obey their mandate.
He claimed that becoming confrontational in front of the public made them appear unprofessional. Respect, he believes, is earned and must be repaid.
Mr Whittal gave the advice at the start of a two-day collaborative session organized by CHRAJ and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to improve cooperation between the police service, the media, and community service organizations (CSOs) in order to improve case management and accountability.
Ghana accepted the German Federal Foreign Office's offer to participate in their "Program to Build and Strengthen Police Structures in Selected Partner Countries in Africa" in 2019.
The Ghana Police Service and GIZ defined three theme outcome areas for their collaboration during an evaluation mission in 2019 - Training System, Community Policing, and Police Accountability.
Mr Whittal urged the police force to listen to residents, preserve their (police) respect, and refrain from beating criminals physically.
He stated that the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) was managing police-civilian disputes in such a way that civilians ceased reporting to CHRAJ, but that the bureau's inability to be transparent to citizens drove individuals to CHRAJ.
The Commissioner emphasized the importance of increased collaboration to ensure that stakeholders understand and respect the institutions' roles and duties in order to strengthen accountability.
He believes it can be accomplished via activism and raising awareness.
Mr Whittal stated that if the media and CSOs understood the police service's activities, they would be able to educate the public responsibly and deliver accurate information.
The Commissioner stated that it was critical for stakeholders to be able to monitor compliance with accountability requirements on a regular basis.
Mr Philipp Niehenke, Manager of GIZ's Country Component in Ghana, said the discussion should not devolve into a blame game in which participants criticize one another.
"It's also not about Civil Society and the Media teaching Police how to perform their jobs," he said, "but rather about developing a greater understanding of each other's roles in maintaining police accountability."
Mr Niehenke praised the Police Service's leadership for their efforts in connecting with the people.
"The Inspector General's field excursions and other POMAB members, including the Director-General, PPSB, becoming engaged when significant occurrences like the one in Nkoranza occurred have demonstrated to civilians that the Police was paying attention to their concerns," he added.
Mr Niehenke stated that the PPSB has taken proactive measures to combat service misconduct.
He praised CHRAJ for carrying out its role in dealing with complaints, particularly those concerning unprofessional conduct and other instances of police misconduct.
"This strong mandate, combined with your extensive experience in the field of accountability, has earned you a great deal of respect from all sides, including the Police Service, Civil Society, and the Media," he said, adding that the GIZ would support some of the Police Service's reform initiatives.
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