The Ghana Police Service and the dilemma of a politically polarised system

Abdul Rashid Gbambu

doi:10.51867/AQSSR.2.2.25

Authors

Abdul Rashid Gbambu Islamic University College, Ghana (IUCG), Ghana Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7877-6763

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.2.2.25

Keywords:

Electoral Violence, Ghana Police Dilemma, Politicisation, Public Trust, Neutrality, Police Credibility

Abstract

This study examines the politicisation of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), focusing on accusations of bias from opposition parties. It employed a qualitative design to explore the impact of political partisanship on the GPS. Conducted across Ghana’s sixteen regions, the study purposively selected forty-three (43) participants, including active and retired police officers, political analysts, policy stakeholders, security analysts, and citizens, ensuring broad geographic and socio-political representation. Snowball sampling complemented this approach to reach additional participants, particularly retired officers and citizens. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and analysed thematically to identify key patterns. The findings reveal, firstly, the profound dilemma faced by the GPS as it struggles to maintain professional neutrality amid intense political interference. Secondly, this interference significantly undermines the GPS’s impartiality, professionalism, and public trust, especially during elections. Thirdly, political patronage permeates recruitment, promotions, and law enforcement practices, thereby perpetuating a cycle of mistrust between political parties and the police. Consequently, the study recommends constitutional reforms to guarantee police autonomy, merit-based recruitment, and strengthened oversight mechanisms to shield the service from political interference, thereby restoring professionalism, impartiality, and independence, while enhancing public confidence and operational effectiveness.

References

Ankrah, E. (2024, December 8). EC office in Damango set ablaze. Joy Online. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://www.myjoyonline.com/ec-office-in-damango-set-ablaze/#google_vignette

Aning, E. K. (2006). An overview of the Ghana police service. Journal of Security Sector Management, 4(2), 1-37.

Asamoah, K. (2020). Addressing the problem of political vigilantism in Ghana through the conceptual lens of wicked problems. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 55(3), 457-471.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909619887608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909619887608

Ateku, A. J., & Bawa, J. (2024). Reforming the police service for effective policing in Ghana's Fourth Republic. In Public sector management and economic governance in Ghana: Three decades of the Fourth Republic (pp. 169-187). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56964-7_9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56964-7_9

Ateng, M. A., Ibrahim, M. G., & Appiah-Boateng, S. (2024). Political violence in Ghana: Trends, triggers and intervention strategies. SN Social Sciences, 4(3), 71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00874-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00874-0

Aubyn, F. (2022). Variations in police performance in United Nations peacekeeping operations and domestic policing in Ghana. Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 9(1), 14-25.

https://doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v9i1.2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v9i1.2

Bako, M. (2024). Ensuring effective policing and crime control in Ghana: Doctrines, realities and way forward. Journal of African Peace and Security, 2(1), 30-44.

Bayor, C. K. (2018, March 11). Taking the law into one's own hands. Modern Ghana. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://www.modernghana.com/news/840539/taking-the-law-into-ones-own-hands.html

Bitektine, A. (2011). Toward a theory of social judgments of organizations: The case of legitimacy, reputation, and status. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 151-179.

https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0382 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0382

Boateng, F. D., & Darko, I. N. (2016). Our past: The effect of colonialism on policing in Ghana. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 18(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355716638114 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355716638114

Bowling, B., Reiner, R., & Sheptycki, J. W. (2019). The politics of the police. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780198769255.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780198769255.001.0001

Bukari, G. A., & Tandoh-Offin, P. (2019). Towards a less contentious electoral outcome in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, 2(2), 39-59. https://doi.org/10.55390/ajpsdg.2019.2.2.3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55390/ajpsdg.2019.2.2.3

Butzbach, O., Fuller, D. B., Schnyder, G., & Svystunova, L. (2022). State-owned enterprises as institutional actors: A hybrid historical institutionalist and institutional work framework. Management and Organization Review, 18(6), 1032-1076. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2021.25 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2021.25

Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & De Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853808 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853808

Caparini, M. (2016). Controlling and overseeing intelligence services in democratic states. In Democratic Control of Intelligence Services (pp. 3-24). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315576442 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315576442

Choi, K. J. (2015). Politics of law enforcement: Policing and police reform in new democracies (Doctoral dissertation). University of Washington. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/34140

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.

Diphoorn, T., & van Stapele, N. (2021). What is community policing?: Divergent agendas, practices, and experiences of transforming the police in Kenya. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 15(1), 399-411. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paaa004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paaa004

Ebele, U. A., & Elekwa, P. G. N. (2023). Police brutality and citizens' revolution: A case study of EndSARS. Reality of Politics, 26, 158-184. https://doi.org/10.15804/rop2023411 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15804/rop2023411

Gbambu, A. R., Ibrahim, M. G., & Owolabi, T. O. S. (2023). An analysis of the causes and implications of media and national security disconnect in Ghana. European Journal of Development Studies, 3(4), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejdevelop.2023.3.4.286 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24018/ejdevelop.2023.3.4.286

Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). (2021). Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census: Volume 3B - Age and Sex Profile. Ghana Statistical Service.

Ghana Web. (2024, December 9). Tensions rise in Techiman South as NDC supporters clash with police over election results. Ghana Web. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Tensions-rise-in-Techiman-South-as-NDC-supporters-clash-with-Police-over-election-results-1963281

Government of Ghana. (1992). The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Ghana Publishing Company.

Graphic Online. (2019, February 6). Govt sets up Commission of Inquiry into Ayawaso West by-election violence. Graphic Online. Retrieved January 13, 2025, from https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-govt-sets-up-commission-of-inquiry-into-ayawaso-west-by-election-violence.html

Greenwood, R., Hinings, C. R., & Whetten, D. (2014). Rethinking institutions and organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 51(7), 1206-1220. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12070 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12070

Gyampo, R. E., Graham, E., & Asare, B. E. (2017). Political vigilantism and democratic governance in Ghana's Fourth Republic. The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs, 44(2), 112-135. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45341742

Hansen, L. (2000). The Little Mermaid's silent security dilemma and the absence of gender in the Copenhagen School. Millennium, 29(2), 285-306. https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298000290020501 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298000290020501

Haynes, J. (2022). Revolution and democracy in Ghana: The politics of Jerry John Rawlings. Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003229773 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003229773

Heckathorn, D. D. (1997). Respondent-driven sampling: A new approach to the study of hidden populations. Social Problems, 44(2), 174-199. https://doi.org/10.2307/3096941

https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1997.44.2.03x0221m DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1997.44.2.03x0221m

Human Rights Watch. (2021, January 21). Uganda: Elections marred by violence - Investigate security force conduct; end repression; ensure justice. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved January 30, 2025, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/21/uganda-elections-marred-violence

Ibrahim, M. G.(2023). Police and civilians fractured relationship in the Northern Region of Ghana: A search for a common ground for internal security. Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies, 5(2), 6-31.

Ivkovich, S. K., Sauerman, A., Faull, A., Meyer, M. E., & Newham, G. (2020). Police integrity in South Africa. Routledge.

Jedidigah, A. K., Opoku, P., Dagba, G., & Amankwa, M. (2020). Security challenges in Ghana: The imperatives of state security agencies. Global Journal of Human-Social Science: F Political Science, 20(2), 20-30.

Kagame, J. B., Muchemi, J., & Thinguri, R. (2023). Police-citizen collaboration on security enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11(8), 329-347.

https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2023.118023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2023.118023

Kauppi, K. (2022). Institutional theory. In Handbook of Theories for Purchasing, Supply Chain and Management Research (pp. 320-334). Edward Elgar Publishing.

McDonald, M. (2008). Securitization and the construction of security. European Journal of International Relations, 14(4), 563-587. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066108097553 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066108097553

Meissner, K. (2010). Elections and conflict in Ghana: Country analysis. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Modise, J. M. (2022). The role, and functions of police in a modern democratic dispensation. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 7(12), 1267-1275.

Mutanda, D. (2019). Security sector reform in Zimbabwe: Scrutinising the rationale for police reform. African Security Review, 28(2), 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2019.1665561 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2019.1665561

Naderifar, M., Goli, H., & Ghaljaie, F. (2017). Snowball sampling: A purposeful method of sampling in qualitative research. Strides in Development of Medical Education, 14(3), e67670. https://doi.org/10.5812/sdme.67670 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5812/sdme.67670

Osei-Adubofour, K. (2017). The lack of political impartiality of the police in Ghana and its effect on the public's trust and confidence in the police and on public perception of police legitimacy (Doctoral dissertation, Northeastern University).

Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), 533-544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y

Papa Bentil, E., Nunoo, I., & Oduro Appiah, M. (2024). Threat of political vigilantism to political security in Africa: A case of Ghana. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2384184 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2384184

Republic of Ghana. (1970). Police Service Act, Act 350. Ghana Publishing.

Rwamuhizi, D., & Irechukwu, E. N. (2022). Police-community partnerships and community relation promotion in Rwanda National Police (RNP): The case of Nyaruguru District. Journal of Public Policy & Governance, 6(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t2057 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t2057

Setty, S. (2017). National security secrecy: Comparative effects on democracy and the rule of law. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316440674 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316440674

Shane, J. M. (2021). Stress inside police departments. Routledge.

Suleiman, M. D. (2025, January 6). Ghana's post-election violence is a window into an ominous future averted or postponed. Joy Online. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghanas-post-election-violence-is-a-window-into-an-ominous-future-averted-or-postponed/#google_vignette

Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. In The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 25). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555.n2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555.n2

Tremaria, S. (2022). Policing and autocratization in Bolivarian Venezuela. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 41(1), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.13298 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.13298

Udenze, S., Roig Telo, A., & Pires, F. (2024). 'The EndSARS movement is an umbrella for other challenges': Assessing Nigeria's EndSARS protest through the theoretical lens of intersectionality. Media, War & Conflict, 17(4), 501-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506352241239550 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17506352241239550

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage.