31 January-2 February 2018 - A workshop to validate an integrity manual for law enforcement agencies was held in Accra, Ghana.
UNODC, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service Criminal Investigation Department (GPS/CID) organized a Validation Workshop of the training manual on ethics and integrity for the GPS/CID. The event brought together 15 participants, notably detectives from the GPS/CID, senior police officers from the Drug Law Enforcement Unit, representatives from the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), as well as, national and international experts.
In the opening remarks, it was reported that integrity is the currency of law enforcement motivation. In addition, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, welcomed the initiative to develop a training manual for the CID detectives on ethics and integrity. She reminded this is "part of the transformation agenda of the Ghana Police Service undertaken by the new Inspector General of Police".
UNODC representative, who highlighted the most important points of the manual, presented the draft of the manual. During the three-day meeting, participants reviewed, discussed and amended every section of the manual. The analysis allowed participants to develop new case stories with ethical dilemmas to reflect day-to-day difficulties. In addition, in-depth discussions on the appropriate reporting mechanisms for misconduct, referring to the service instructions, the whistle-blower protection act, and other rules and regulations were held.
A representative of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) office also attended the meeting and shared his experiences with handling complaints. The draft manual on ethics and integrity is being revised in the light of the comments received and the discussions held. Therefore, it will reflect the rules and regulations in place in Ghana and provide examples from practical experiences in the Ghanaian police operations.
A pilot training on ethics and integrity for senior management of the Ghana Police Service will take place during March 2018, which will be followed by a training of trainers workshop shortly afterwards. Eventually, the aim is to integrate this course on ethics and integrity in the broader two months long training programme for detectives that is regularly rolled out at the Detective Training School.
The training manual on ethics and integrity is aligned with one of CRIMJUST main pillars, institutional integrity, that aims at supporting criminal justice actors in identifying and addressing integrity and accountability challenges. The submission of the training manual to Ghanaian law enforcement agencies reflects UNODC's effort to facilitate support and guidance to strengthen the national systems and national anti-corruption coordination efforts.
Under the framework of the CRIMJUST project funded by European Union Cocaine Route Programme, UNODC and its partners (INTERPOL and TI) aim to assist Member States to enhance their capacity and integrity of criminal justice institutions to detect, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate illicit cocaine trafficking cases, and to foster cooperation at the interregional level for effective action to tackle drug trafficking and related organized crime.
For more information:
- European Union "Cocaine Route Programme"
- UNODC Corruption and Economic Crime Brunch
- UNODC West and Central Africa
