VZCZCXYZ0024
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #1291/01 1580744
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070744Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1471
INFO RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS ACCRA 001291 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS INFO ALL AFRICAN DIPLOMATIC POSTS 
 
JUSTICE FOR ICITAP, OPDAT 
NSC FOR COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PINS ASEC SOCI GH
SUBJECT: GHANA POLICE SERVICE GRADUATES INSTRUCTORS AND 
CADETS WHILE REFLECTING ON PROGRESS IN REFORMS 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. Speaking at two recent graduation ceremonies for 
ICITAP-funded instructor development courses and the Ghana 
Police Service's 39th Cadet Officers' Course, GOG officials 
confirmed Ghana's commitment to ongoing training and lauded 
advances in the police training program, but admitted that 
shortfalls remain.  President Kufuor challenged officers to 
protect citizens' rights while avoiding being unduly 
influenced by friends and family.  Minister of Interior 
Kan-Dapaah praised integration of the ICITAP curriculum into 
Ghana's police training program.  ICITAP graduates challenged 
their superiors to tackle problems in Ghana's current 
training programs.  As a sign of continuing U.S. support for 
modernization of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), the 
Ambassador announced donation of 200 pairs of handcuffs.  End 
Summary. 
 
GRADUATING GHANA'S FINEST 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. As part of ongoing efforts to support the modernization of 
Ghana's police force, the Embassy took part in two recent 
graduation ceremonies for officers of the Ghana Police 
Service (GPS).  On May 22, the Ambassador delivered remarks 
along with Minister of Interior Albert Kan-Dapaah and 
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Patrick Acheampong at a 
graduation ceremony at Ghana Police Headquarters in Accra for 
sixty-four participants in two eight-week "Basic Police 
Skills Instructor Development" courses.  The Bureau of 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) funded the 
courses, which were led by instructors from the Department of 
Justice's International Criminal and Investigative Training 
Program (ICITAP).  The Commandant of the Ghana Police 
College, numerous high-ranking members of Ghana's law 
enforcement community, ICITAP trainers Robert Coburn and 
Darryl McEachern and Embassy Poloffs also attended. 
 
¶3. Later that week, on May 26, the Ambassador and Poloff 
attended a graduation ceremony for the 39th Cadet Officers' 
Course held at the National Police Training School at Tesano, 
just outside of Accra.  In contrast to the indoor and more 
intimate ICITAP graduation ceremony, the event on the parade 
grounds at Tesano consisted of marching, honoring of arriving 
dignitaries, cheering by crowds of supportive family members 
and an address by President John Kufuor, who commissioned the 
officers.  Minister of Interior Kan-Dapaah, Minister of 
National Security Francis Poku, members of the diplomatic 
corps and most of Ghana's high-ranking law enforcement 
officers also attended. 
 
GHANA'S COMMITMENT TO ONGOING POLICE TRAINING 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. GOG speakers at the ICITAP graduation on May 22 focused on 
the government's commitment to support further training for 
Ghana's police.  Noting that over 600 Ghanaian police 
officers of all ranks have been trained through ICITAP 
courses since Ghana's relationship with the program began in 
1998, IGP Acheampong assured attendees that training remains 
a top priority of the administration. 
 
¶5. "The police, perhaps more than any other institution, 
require regular training," said MOI Kan-Dapaah.  Policing in 
a democratic society is a particularly difficult job, 
Kan-Dapaah continued, because officers must use their 
judgment about how and when to apply the law and must do so 
while protecting citizens' rights.  Ghana is ready to embark 
on a national wealth development program, but must protect 
its early gains.  The GOG will pursue efforts to empower 
police with the tools they need to help prevent erosion of 
these gains, Kan-Dapaah said. 
 
TRAINING YIELDS ADVANCES, IDENTIFIES SHORTFALLS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6. The latest round of ICITAP-funded courses were 
specifically structured for Ghana, emphasized IGP Acheampong. 
 The two eight-week courses covered a wide range of skills 
such as human rights, policing in a democracy, use of force, 
communications, civil disobedience, ethics, building and 
vehicle searches, and officer safety and survival, among 
others.  As train-the-trainer courses, they also covered 
 
conducting needs-analysis, using presentations and role-plays 
in teaching, and fostering teamwork among trainees. 
Attesting to the usefulness of the courses, IGP Acheampong 
confirmed that his Working Group for Curriculum 
Standardization had recommended that the full ICITAP 
curriculum be inserted completely into the current Ghana 
Police Service basic training program.  In her subsequent 
remarks, the Ambassador noted that the Ghana Police Service 
had replicated the entire ICITAP basic training program 
earlier in 2006, reportedly the first time this has occurred 
in Africa. 
 
¶7. Despite the positive tone of the ICITAP graduation 
ceremony, however, some speakers were not afraid to point out 
shortfalls in the GPS' current training programs and admonish 
the police for recent failures.  Offering advice to the IGP 
during a report from the trainees' perspective, one officer 
said that through the ICITAP training courses, the students 
realized that their current training program puts too much 
emphasis on drill and repetition, yet too little emphasis on 
basic police skills at the cadet level, techniques for 
vehicle and building searches, officer rescue and use of 
force.  Perhaps most important is lack of training in proper 
weapons handling, leading to a spate of recent incidents in 
which police have fired upon and killed civilians.  In a new 
training program that the students developed, and which they 
plan to deliver to the IGP, weapons handling would become an 
integral part of the program, the student said.  The 
Ambassador, praising the graduates for their achievements 
while reminding them that much work remains in modernizing 
Ghana's police force, told attendees she had taken note of 
the students' report and that the United States would work 
with the IGP and Ghana Police Service to tailor future 
trainings accordingly. 
 
GHANA APPRECIATES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. MOI Kan-Dapaah and IGP Acheampong uniformly expressed 
their appreciation for assistance provided by the United 
States through the ICITAP program.  "Though Embassy staff 
come and go, the spirit of cooperation continues," IGP 
Acheampong said, adding approvingly that USG funding remains 
uninterrupted through staff rotations.  Confirming that U.S. 
support would continue, the Ambassador surprised the ICITAP 
ceremony audience by announcing that the United States would 
donate 200 pairs of handcuffs to the GPS. 
 
KUFUOR PRAISES GRADUATES, CRITICIZES MAINTENANCE 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9. President Kufuor, speaking at the 39th Cadet Officers' 
Course graduation on May 26, echoed the need for ongoing 
training raised by speakers at the May 22 ICITAP ceremony, 
saying that training must be updated continually to meet the 
challenges of modern policing.  Police must always be mindful 
of their responsibility toward society, and the public, in 
turn, must support the police in order for them to be 
effective.  In particular, the public must avoid seeking 
"undue influence" among the police through friends or 
relatives, Kufuor said. 
 
¶10. Noting that the 39th Cadet Officers' Course is the 
largest training group since inception of the Ghana Police 
College in 1959, President Kufuor praised the increasing 
quality of incoming students, with incoming cadets now 
normally possessing advanced degrees.  Making tacit reference 
to ICITAP, Kufuor lauded the police college for developing a 
new curriculum for modern policing and for incorporating 
skills and experience acquired by Ghanaian police who have 
participated in international peacekeeping missions or in 
overseas training programs. 
 
¶11. President Kufuor also took a few moments to admonish the 
police service, however, expressing dismay at officers' 
laxity in maintaining government-provided equipment.  Kufuor 
directed that the GPS immediately put measures into effect to 
curb such problems. 
 
BRIDGEWATER