The 3000 beneficiary trainees who belong to Intake Course One 2018 and drawn from all the ten regions of the country underwent three weeks intensive training in carefully selected topics to prepare them for their auxiliary duties in their various communities.
Aside the physical training during the three week period, the instructors also took the trainees through topics such as Criminal Investigation, Traffic Management, Communication and Report Writing, Crime Scene Management, crime prevention methods. The rest were Basic Education and Terrorism, Basic Officer Skills, Community Policing Child Friendly Policing and Democratic Policing Principles.
At the NPTS in Accra where a short but impressive event climaxed the main closing ceremony, the Commanding Officer of NPTS, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Debora Addison-Campbell, who reviewed the parade, lauded the CPPs for going through the training and knowledge impacted successfully in a record time.
She encouraged them to continue to strive for excellence through commitment and dedication to duty emphasizing that “there is no limit to what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.”
She noted that many of the youth are still out there struggling to find some work to do and therefore advised them to consider their selection for that training as a privilege to which they must “resolve to give off your best as you go out to help in law enforcement and security in your communities” in view of the high unemployment rate confronting the youth.
She expressed the hope that the trainees would find the knowledge and skills imparted to them very useful and helpful in all fields of their endeavour urging them to strive to practice everything as they learn on the job.
ACP Addison-Campbell, however, cautioned the trainees about their new personality that comes with enormous authority which could easily be abused.” As you go home to show off your new self in your uniforms do not be influenced by bad friends to use the uniforms to tarnish the image of the Agency, yourselves, your family and this school” adding that I believe you have not forgotten that there is a severe consequence for any form of misconduct.”
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations at YEA, Alhaji Ibrahim Bashiru , who represented the Agency, used the opportunity to express gratitude of the Agency to the NPTS and extolled their mark of achievement for putting their acts together to see the trainees through three weeks training which normally would have taken them six months to do so.
Commending the trainees for coming out with flying colours, he also cautioned that the Ghana Police has departed from the era when it used to be a Police force to its new status as Police Service in the current democratic dispensation.
He explained that it was for this purpose that a topic like Principles of democratic Policing was introduced in their training to enable them appreciate and to be guided by the basic principles of the rule of law when deployed.
He therefore urged the trainees to exhibit the highest form of professionalism, integrity and discipline in the course of discharging their duties in the communities.
He stated that the Agency would not countenance any form of indiscipline by using the uniform to dent the image of the Agency. According to him, when such deviant behavior is brought to the attention of the Agency it would have no other alternative than to dispense with the services of the offender.
Thus he advised them to eschew unacceptable practices like bullying and intimidation in their communities under their new status as Community Protection Personnel.
Three CPP beneficiary trainees who distinguished themselves during the training were presented with special awards by the Member of Parliament for Agona West and Member of the Select Committee on Defence and Interior, Honourable Cynthia Morrison.
The Best in Academics Award went to Eric Newlove Mensah, the Best trainee in Drills was awarded to Robert Fiawotorfor while the Commanding Officer Special Award went to Anita Etornam Okai.
Among the management members from the YEA who graced the occasion were, Director of Technical Services, Joe Louis Sakyi, Head of Communications, Awal Mohammed, Head of Records, Ghaffar Yeboah and the Greater Accra Regional Director of YEA, Prince Obeng.