Ghana: Reports of corruption and bribery inside the police force; procedure followed to file a complaint and recourse available; the state's attitude toward police corruption and how police handle personal feuds

According to an article in Accra Daily Mail, "[c]orruption in Ghana [is] so bad that one may think it has been institutionalized in the public sector" and "[m]ost police and prison officers are ranked the highest bribe takers" (2 June 2005). Similarly, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that police officers in Ghana, among other countries, are perceived as being "especially corrupt" (9 Dec. 2004; see also US 8 Mar. 2006). In a survey conducted by Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Transparency International's local branch (GII n.d.), 76.8 percent of respondents indicated that the Police Service was considered one of the top ten most corrupt institutions in Ghana (July 2005, 7).

The Ghanaian Chronicle reports that the Superintendent of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was allegedly involved in taking a bribe in exchange for the release of two Venezuelan drug traffickers and that the Head of the CID had allegedly threatened the woman making the accusations with expulsion from the country (26 July 2006).

The same newspaper reports "massive bribe taking in and around the Kwame Nkrumah circle area in Accra" (The Ghanaian Chronicle 23 Mar. 2006). According to the article, police officers would, in most cases, use the threat of heavy fines and prosecution to obtain payment from motorists (ibid.). Another article reports that a police officer at a barrier in Takofiano was caught in the act of taking money from a driver (ibid. 20 Apr. 2006). Following an investigation of police dealings with timber truck drivers on the Techiman-Tamale and Bolgatanga-Bawku highways in January 2006, The Ghanaian Chronicle concluded that police extort money from drivers at all the barriers set up in this region (7 Feb. 2006). Corroborating this information, Country Reports on Human Rights for 2005 states that some police officers obtained bribes from passing motorists by creating illegal barriers (US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 2.d).

The Panafrican News Agency (PANA) reported that in August 2005 the Inspector General of Police denounced the unsatisfactory performance of senior police officers in Accra and Tema and ordered they be put on probation (11 Aug. 2005; see also US 8 Mar. 2006).

In 2005, police officers reportedly extorted money from businesses by pretending to be debt collectors and by subsequently arresting businessmen and collecting bribes from their associates for the detainees' release (ibid., Sec. 1.d). One constable was dismissed from his position for threatening to arrest a foreign couple if they did not pay 363,320 Ghanaian cedis (GHC) [or 44.69 Canadian dollars (CAD) (Bank of Canada 2 Aug. 2006)] (ibid.).

According to Commonwealth Police Watch, there have been reports of corruption in selecting police officers for the peace mission in Sudan in which some police officers allegedly paid bribes to be included on the list of selected candidates (CHRI Apr. 2005). Another source states that two police officers were disciplined for "misconduct related to selection for a peacekeeping mission" (US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 1.d).

Procedure followed to file a complaint against a police officer

The information in the following two paragraphs was provided by the Director-General of Strategic Direction and Monitoring Directorate of the Ghana Police Service in correspondence with the Research Directorate (Ghana 10 Aug. 2006). There are three ways to file a complaint against a police officer:

1) Make a written complaint to the Inspector-General of Police or the Director-General (DG) of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) bureau;

2) Make a verbal complaint by appearing in person to the office of the DG of PIPS;

3) Make a complaint by telephone to the office of the DG of PIPS.

The Director-General also provided the following statistics regarding complaints received by PIPS:

[A]t the close of the year 2005, the [PIPS] Bureau received two hundred and ninety-six (296) cases which have been classified as follows:

(a) harassment, unlawful arrest and detention 30

(b) misconduct (administrative lapses) 34

(c) misappropriation of exhibits 28

(d) unprofessional handling of cases 31

(e) extortion (corruption) 26

(f) police brutalities 30

(g) undue delay of investigations 79

(h) indulgence in civil cases 28

(i) withholding of exhibits 10

Out of the 296 cases, 200 have been completed and reports with recommendation as to punishments have been submitted to the Inspector-General of Police for his directives.

State's attitude and response to corruption

According to the Ghana Police Service's Web site, the Special Police Command (SPC) unit was established to improve public trust in police services, to ensure their accountability and to enhance their efficiency (Ghana n.d.b). The SPC acts as an internal audit that deals with public complaints against police officers (ibid.). Among other functions, the SPC seeks "[t]o discourage any tendencies of bribery and corruption by the Police Officers and investigate any allegations made against police officers in this respect" and "[t]o enquire into any complaint regarding the acceptance by a Police officer of any monetary or other consideration before granting bail to any suspect in cells" (ibid.).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, however, the Director-General of Strategic Direction and Monitoring Directorate of the Ghana Police Service stated that:

[t]he Special Police Command is now defunct. Its functions were taken over by Monitoring and Inspection Unit (MIU) on 23rd July 2001.... the Monitoring and Inspection Unit (MIU) was, in ... 2005, merged with another [u]nit known as Special Intelligence Unit (SIU) to create the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) (Ghana 10 Aug. 2006).

The Director-General also indicated that PIPS, under the direction of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, is responsible for the following functions:

[i]nvestigate complaints referred by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) or members of the Headquarters, Management Advisory Board (HEMAB) on matters boardering on [p]olice corruption, misconduct and other offences criminal or civil; and

... act as an Internal Affairs Unit of the Service. (Ghana 10 Aug. 2006).

Other sources also indicated that PIPS had been mandated to investigate police misconduct and human rights violations (US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 1.d; see also GNA 6 Sept. 2005).

The government of Ghana established the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in 1992 to ensure that the government complies with its human rights obligations which includes investigating allegations of corruption and misappropriation of public funds by public officials (Ghana n.d.a; The Ghanaian Chronicle 4 Jan. 2006). However, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) indicated, in a briefing paper on Ghana's anti-corruption efforts, that the CHRAJ was unable to fulfill its anti-corruption mandate as a result of budget cuts in 2005 (1 May 2005, 2).

According to Global Integrity , the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was established in December 1993 (n.d.). However, the US Diplomatic Mission to Ghana reports that the SFO was established in 1998 (n.d.). The SFO's mandate is to investigate "serious economic crimes" (Global Integrity n.d.). The SFO also has the capacity to prosecute such criminal acts (U4 6 Jan. 2006).

Three laws were enacted in 2003 to address the financial activities of the government including corruption: the Public Procurement Act, the Internal Audit Agency Act and the Financial Administration Act (Public Agenda 30 Jan. 2006; CDD-Ghana 1 May 2005, 1-2; Accra Daily Mail 24 July 2006). CDD-Ghana criticized this legislative reform because of the high cost of implementing the legislation and funding the associated institutions, such as the Public Procurement Board (1 May 2005, 2). CDD-Ghana also stated its concerns regarding "horizontal accountability," that the agencies that have been established to scrutinize the government and monitor corruption are themselves governmental agencies thereby potentially causing a conflict of interest (1 May 2005, 2). In addition, two sources suggested that additional legislation on whistleblower protection and on access to information would be useful as a deterrent to corruption (Accra Daily Mail 24 July 2006; CDD-Ghana 1 May 2005, 3).

Information regarding the state's attitude toward the police's handling of personal feuds could not be found among sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Accra Daily Mail. 24 July 2006. "Corruption: Ghana Doing Fine, But Can Do More – US Ambassador." [Accessed 24 July 2006]
_____. 2 June 2005. Peter Yanney. "Corruption in Ghana on the Increase?" [Accessed 13 July 2006]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 9 December 2004. Marc Burleigh. "Political Parties in Latin America, India, Indonesia Most Corrupt: Report." (Dialog)

Bank of Canada. 2 August 2006. "Daily Currency Converter." [Accessed 2 Aug. 2006]

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). April 2005. Vol. 2. "About a Police Force." Commonwealth Police Watch. [Accessed 9 Aug. 2006]

Ghana. 10 August 2006. Police Service, Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau, National Police Headquarters, Accra. 10 August 2006. Correspondence sent by the Director-General of Strategic Direction and Monitoring Directorate.
_____. N.d.a. Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). "About CHRAJ." [Accessed 4 Aug. 2006]
_____. N.d.b. Police Service, Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau, National Police Headquarters, Accra. "Special Police Command." [Accessed 3 Aug. 2006]

Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana). 1 May 2005. Adam Keith. Briefing Paper. "Invigorating Ghana's Lagging Anticorruption Agenda: Instruments for Enhanced Civic Involvement." [Accessed 4 Aug. 2006]

Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII). July 2005. "'Voice of the People' Survey (Southern Ghana)." Project Completion Report. [Accessed 8 Aug. 2006]
_____. N.d. "About GII." [Accessed 8 Aug. 2006]

Ghana News Agency (GNA). 6 September 2005. "Police Establish Public Complaints Unit." [Accessed 8 Aug. 2006]

The Ghanaian Chronicle [Accra]. 26 July 2006. George Kyei Frimpong, Razak M. Abubakar and Keir Boettcher. "CID Deputy Boss Mentioned ... in East Legon Drug Case." [Accessed 8 Aug. 2006]
_____. 20 April 2006. Simmons Yussif Kewura. "Highway Robbery by Police: Minister Orders Cop to Return Bribe ... As He Catches Him Red-Handed." [Accessed 9 Aug. 2006]
_____. 23 March 2006. Charles Takyi-Boadu. "After IGP's Caution to his 'Boys' Police Still Taking Bribes – Eye Witness Account." [Accessed 9 Aug. 2006]
_____. 7 February 2006. Simmons Yussif Kewura. "Police Caught in Highway Robbery." (Factiva)
_____. 4 January 2006. Sebastian R. Freiku. "No One Can Influence CHRAJ, Not Even the President." (Factiva)

Global Integrity. N.d. "Ghana: Corruption Timeline." [Accessed 4 Aug. 2006]

Panafrican News Agency (PANA). 11 August 2005. "Ghana Police Chief Puts Top Cops on Probation." (Factiva)

Public Agenda [Accra]. 30 January 2006. Morkporkpor Vuasi. "Police Auditors Urged to Maintain High Professional Standards." (Factiva)

U4 Utstein Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (U4). 6 January 2006. "Good Governance Programme, Ghana." [Accessed 4 Aug. 2006]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Ghana." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. [Accessed 2 Aug. 2006]
_____. N.d. Diplomatic Mission to Ghana. "Ghana: 2004 Investment Climate Statement." [Accessed 4 Aug. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Accra, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, the Ghana Integrity Initiative and the Judicial Service of Ghana did not provide information within time constraints.

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and the Ghana Center for Public Integrity did not provide information.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International, Business Action Against Corruption, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, CopSeek.com, Freedom House, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Integrated Regional Information Networks, Judicial Service of Ghana, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Transparency International.