In a couple of days, Christians and non-Christians alike will be celebrating Christmas and of course the New Year. The Christmas season does not only mark the birth of Jesus Christ but also ushers in a new year for which many count their gains and losses and also draw up plans and programmes for the coming year.
Whilst all decent minded persons continue to pursue their legitimate businesses with a view to making the season a pleasant and memorable one for themselves, their families, friends and colleagues, criminals and criminally minded persons are also hatching illegal schemes to deprive people of their hard-earned property.
It is a fact that such occasions are usually characterized by brisk commercial activities, heavy vehicular and human traffic especially from the rural to urban centers. This situation normally put more pressure on the Police who have to manage traffic and handle a whole lot of criminality and incidents involving social disorders. Police records show that crimes such as stealing, pick pocketing, robbery especially street, highway and residential robberies, assault, fraud, confidence tricksters, and other anti social behaviours like drunkenness are normally on the rise during this time.
Most people who travel from the rural areas to the urban centres to transact business normally fall victim to confidence tricksters, armed robbers and other criminals whilst residents of the city, fall prey to pretty thievery involving items such as laptops, electrical gadgets, mobile phones, jewellery among others. Huge amounts of money also become targets of criminals. But the good news is that there are several practical steps individuals or groups can take to avoid falling prey to criminals. Whilst the police have outlined various security strategies through a special operation, dubbed “Father Christmas” to make the season much safer.
Individuals also have a great responsibility to complement the efforts of the police through the observance of simple personal security measures. The first step towards personal security is to shed the victim mentality syndrome. We should always be alert and never think that crime is another person’s problem. Businesspeople or businesswomen who handle huge amounts of money, as well as farmers, fishermen, traders who equally handle large volumes of money, the best security for such people is to think carefully about the safest means of conducting your business.
They have to consider the time, the day, the place and the route. If one is not there shopping, it is important to consider the safest place to park one’s car. People around you, people who might be following you, people who may try to distract your attention or even people who might offer to help you. The public would have to plan and think through all the possible security measures that will be needed, think about where they can locate or contact the Police and the best way to direct the Police to their location. It is important to consider this all the time.
This should never be an afterthought because they may not have the opportunity to think about all these whilst they are under attack. It is also important for business owners to institute measure to protect their customers. For example a safe place for customers to park their cars, pay for their purchases and be on the lookout for people who might be following their customers. Similarly, it is important for transport owners to consider the safety of passengers who board their cars. Drivers alone should not handle this.
Transport owners should insist on regular maintenance of their vehicles and should resist the temptation of putting pressure on their drivers to double the sales during this season. Christmas is a season of joy, the police have measures to check crimes during this season. The police is also on alert so that criminals do not have their way. Crime prevention however begins with the individual. Let us be security conscious to ensure our personal safety during this Christmas and the New Year.
BY SUPT. DAVID EKLU, COMMUNITY POLICING UNIT OF THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE
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