Fighting extremism: NCCE strengthens police-community cooperation at Garu

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has held a community dialogue for residents of Pialogo in the Garu District of the Upper East Region and the Ghana Police Service to strengthen cooperation to fight crime and violent extremism.It was organised under the auspices of a European Union-supported project dubbed: 'Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Action in the Northern Regions of Ghana' and it brought together chiefs, elders, community leaders, women and youth, security services and school children.The engagement was part of activities to enhance trust and cooperation between the security services particularly the Police Service and the community to help fight crime particularly threats of violent extremism, which had destabilised neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, among others.It also created a conducive platform for the stakeholders to enhance their knowledge of the operations of the violent extremists, challenges in fighting crime and how they could play critical roles in supporting security services to curb any spillover.Mr Samuel Akolgo, the Garu District Director of NCCE said the Commission was working to promote peace and help fight crime through strengthening the cooperation and trust between the communities and the police.He said strong trust and cooperation between the communities and the police would help in information sharing to help maintain law and order and prepare them to counter threats of terrorism that were threatening the shores of the country.'This activity is aimed at fostering mutual trust, understanding, and cooperation to address the root causes of radicalism, enhance community resilience, and create a safer, and more inclusive society.Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Isaac Adu, Garu District Police Commander, said the effects of violent extremism in countries like Burkina Faso, Nigeria on women and children could not be quantified and there was the need to prevent same from happening in Ghana.He urged the commun ity members to report suspicious characters to the police to ensure the police had relevant information to fight crime.He encouraged religious and traditional leaders to pray and preach peace in the district and the country at large while encouraging people to be united and stay away from crime especially this election year regardless of tribal, political, or religious background in the community.Source: Ghana News Agency