Editorial

 Police visibility needed in all schools

In today’s world, security has become very paramount because of all manner of crim­inal activities.

It is sad that crime is occurring everywhere, so the police, who spearhead security in society, now face a daunting task of keeping an eye on even places where hitherto were least thought of to experience crime.

Besides criminals, every day, we hear of others perpetrating acts such as student violence that un­dermine the peace of society.

In the light of this, we wish to commend the country’s Police Administration for announcing its intentions to introduce the ‘Police Visibility and Undercover’ pro­gramme on university campuses to check student violence and crime in general to improve security in public universities across the country.

What is heart-warming is that the programme is meant to strengthen security and thereby deepen peace and social cohesion on the various campuses for aca­demic work to thrive.

Academic work is brain activity which calls for a serene atmo­sphere and so in an era when academic standards are falling for various reasons, we must not allow anything avoidable to worsen the situation.

Thus, we think there is no need to waste time to discuss the crime aspect of the police-campus initia­tive because crime has never been justifiable and must be checked with all the force it deserves.

However, the whole nation has to have an objective look at violence on university campuses in the country.

There are public concerns about rising student agitations in universi­ties, which often result in violence and its destruction of property and threat to human life.

It will, for instance, be recalled that in August, last year, some students from University Hall (Katanga), as part of a procession, attempted to use the route in front of the Unity Hall (Conti), both at the Kwame Nkrumah Univer­sity of Science and Technology (KNUST), and in the process, a misunderstanding ensued between residents of the two halls.

The chaos led to some school and private properties, including vehicles being vandalised.

We have not forgotten either the recent clash between students at the Mensah Sarbah Hall and those at the Commonwealth Hall, both at the University of Ghana.

Condemning the violence, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the violent acts on the two campuses were unac­ceptable as they were distressing and must not be tolerated.

We guess the whole country share in the sentiments expressed by the President, but we must not stop at that.

Student violence in the country is an age-old thing. What caus­es it? What measures have been recommended to curb it? Are they implemented to the letter? Are they deterrent enough?

It is clear that these questions need much scrutiny to ascertain what the reasons are really for the perpetuity of student violence in the country.

We think before the problems could be ascertained and fixed, the best option is to prevent future violence.

This is why we want to say that the ‘Police Visibility and Under­cover’ programme is a precious initiative whose implementation should be fast-tracked and also ex­tended to the campuses of private universities and even senior high schools (SHSs) due to violence and attendant destruction of property and attacks on human life emerging at the SHSs.

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