The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has described as “candidates of corruption” the credibility of the recent surveys by various bodies placing the law enforcement agency as the most corrupt institution in Ghana.
A survey by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and others found the police, immigration, and customs services most susceptible to taking bribes, mirroring other surveys such as the Corruption Perception Index.
According to the police service, it is concerned with the study and its findings and, therefore, wants the researchers to answer some questions about why some institutions were not captured in the study, while others were grouped although they perform different functions.
In a five-page response, the police chief said it would have been helpful if the researchers had engaged the service to find out what measures they had instituted, so they can be incorporated into the findings.
“More importantly, a further scrutiny of the report shows that your two institutions (CHRAJ and Ghana Statistical Service) were also not part of the research and we are wondering why you do not think they are also candidates for corruption investigation, considering that they also provide critical services to the public.
“We want to place on record that we are passionate about this because the continuous empirically and scientifically unsubstantiated labelling of the police service as the most corrupt institution in the country only goes to feed this perception and damage the reputation of the service as well as weaken the morale of its personnel,” the IGP said in the five pages statement.
He added that “As we have all now come to accept, perception tends to be more powerful than reality and therefore we have no choice than to share our position on this matter.”
The police administration also questioned the methodology used in conducting the research and wondered why there were no specific recommendations in the report.
The situation, it described the findings as “surprising that a major research like this did not offer any recommendations and solutions.”
