st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } Dear list, I’ve read this message and got surprised ,so I wouldlike to share the article with you.
Regards Vinod Benjamin ModernGhana.com, Ghana Wednesday, December 05, 2007 It's Not A Joke: The NeedFor Blind Officers In GhanaPolice Service By Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi, NJ, USA Feature Article - Wed, 05Dec 2007 ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE BLINDPOLICE OFFICERS HAVE UNIQUE GIFTS TO FIGHT CRIMES? For surveillance andforensic purposes, Ghana Police Service needs blind police officers in its rankand file to enable it to fight crimes effectively. Those in the law enforcementand crime fighting businesses know that ninety-five percent of crimescommitted, or about to be committed are solved by using ninety-five percent ofthe three basic human senses-----the nose, the ear and the eye. The rest isjust a raw gut and personal intuition. These have been the arsenals in thetrade since crimes were invented by humankind. However, losing one of thesesenses doesn't and shouldn't necessarily disqualify one from being an activeand effective crime fighter. In fact, a blind person iscompensated by nature to filter information more accurately with the ear than asighted person. The blind sense of smelling is higher than those of us who havesight. The upsurge andproliferation of global illicit- drug trafficking and terrorism, increase inorganized intercontinental crimes and the quest of some few selfish individualswho want to get rich quicker without any sweat , are making Ghana to have morethan its share of criminal activities than anticipated. The effect of this isthat, our State security apparatus have been stretched to an unprecedentedlimit. The fact on hand now is thatusing the natural weapons like: the ears, the eyes, the nose and personalintuition are just as effective as the modern day technologies. These old, butjust discovered natural crime fighting techniques have been tried in Belgium and the Netherlands. These countries areusing specialized blind officers in transcribing and analyzing surveillancerecordings-wiretapping and eavesdropping. It is believed that the blind arevery good in linguistic and have the capability to learn different languagesand sounds with much ease. They have very superb abilities to hear like anelephant and can also have a memory comparable to the computer and ability toretain and recall information at a faster speed. It's believed that hearing isthe fastest vehicle for memorization of detailed events. Ghanahas many brilliant blind persons in its higher institutions of learning. Thoseof you who have had the opportunity to share learning environment with theblind will realize that they are very powerful in the use of their othersenses. This article is to challengethe Ghana Police Service (GPS) to effectively harness this abundance resourceto fight local and international crimes. In these days and age, it will be easyto recruit and set-up a blind officers unit, with very reliable Global Positionsystem (GPS) and voice -activated devices. There are also specially equippedcomputers with Braille key boards and software that translates images on thecomputer screen into sound with the aim of reducing the blind officers'physical limitations. Come next January, a lot offoreigners and all kinds of criminal elements will descend on Ghana for thegames. Wouldn't it be prudent for the Ghana Police Service to "plant"blind police officers at our stadiums, to monitor criminal activities withtheir "listening devices"? In the dog-eat-dog crime -fightingbusiness world any little advantage over the perpetuator would worth more thantons of gold. The use of blind officers'challenges and rewards: 1) Most surveillancerecordings have loud background noise; a typical example was the tape in thealleged cocaine case. Analyzing such tapes requires highly trained ears toprocess and screen out the voices and valued evidential contents. Blindofficers can make this task very easy and cost effective. 2) Blind officers would bevery dedicated to their jobs assignments because they would be compelled toprove their skills to their sighted colleagues. 3) Using the blind officersin the administrative work in the service would ultimately free up the sightedmanpower, so that GPS can deploy the sighted cops in other physically demandingtasks, such as crowd control, patrols and many other critical proactive andreactive modules. 4) Forensic police workwould be enhanced if the blind police officers are used. 5) Most major crimes aresolved with forensic and surveillance tools, therefore using the blind policeofficers would be a win, win situation for the nation and the Police Service. The challenges of usingblind police officers are more of social problems than physical one. Somesighted officers would find it hard to work with the blind officers because ofthe fear of not knowing how to relate to them. The society has a stigmaattached to any physically challenged person; therefore it makes it verydifficult for people to see other capabilities of a handicapped person. However, this ignorance orstigma could be minimized if proper sensitivity programs are adopted for thesighted officers and the Ghanaian society. People's attitudes could be changedwhen a blind officer shows his determination, usefulness and willingness infighting crimes and other critical skills, other than what we have been made toknow ----- the basket weaving, singing and begging along the streets of ourcities. One doesn't care who savesand protects his or her life and property. The only thing is to have a safesociety free of miscreants and criminals. Ghana Police Service needs all thebrains it can access and if a blind person can do the job so be it. I know hiring very brilliantblind police officers is not happening in Ghana anytime soon. But, in itsplace, we will have officers who were recruited with "politicalconnections." Those were the ones who were not fit to do the job they wereemployed to do. Some of these recruits are sometime dumped on the Servicewithout observing the lay down recruitment procedures- back ground check,character assessment and intellectual capacity. Hmm... How do I put itdelicately? The Ghana Police is usually used by the politicians because itsleaders of the past failed to be professionals. They were to a large extentseen as bed- fellows of the political systems, such that they found it verydifficult to challenge the politicians or the need to reject such unwholesomeparty sympathizers who were rewarded for the sake of "job- for- the- boysand girls" In fact, a large number ofthese undesirable elements are those who cause much embarrassment to themajority hard -working officers, of the Police Service. My apprehension is thatthese "half- baked" officers are those who will surely make fun ofthe idea of bringing blind officers on board. In addition, they are those whowill continue to make bad name for the rest of the hard -workingofficers-including those serving excellently in the AU and UN Missions. I'msure these bad -apples will definitely pad-lock the recruitment system toprevent the Ghana Police from hiring the Blind officers. By the way, is the GPSdeveloping a documentary on the activities of its officers serving all over theworld so that the Ghanaians can appreciate what their Police officers are doingoutside Ghana?Are you aware that Ghanahas the largest police contingent serving in any peace- keeping mission in theentire world? It's a plus for the nation, isn't it? Mr. IGP, you are on top ofyour task, with the few hitches notwithstanding. But try and get to the apex byexploring this option which is now available, as one of the modern ways offighting crime. Since the Police Service isinfested with some officers devoid of integrity and dedication to their duties,injecting a new breed of officers into the Service could change things aroundand make the Police redeem its deflated reputation. One more thing: when is thePolice Service going to make use of dogs as part of its crime -fightingarsenals? Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi NJ, USA * The Author is a Socialcommentator and the founder of Adu-Gyamfi Youth Empowerment, Educational andApprenticeship Foundation. Source/Credits: KwakuAdu-Gyamfi http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/NewsArchive/news_details.asp?menu_id=1&id=VFZSUk5VMVVWVFU9 BlindNews Mailing List Subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "subscribe" as subject Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe" as subject Moderator:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind RSS: http://GeoffAndWen.com/BlindNewsRSS.asp More information about RSSfeeds will be published shortly. --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. 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