History
Policing in Ghana (then the Gold Coast) was originally organized by traditional authorities led by local kings or chiefs. This they did by employing unpaid messengers to carry out executive and judicial functions in their respective communities. Professional policing was introduced by the British Colonial authorities in 1831. The colonial administrator at the time, Captain George Maclean, Governor of the Gold Coast, recruited 129 men to patrol the trade routes between Ashanti and the coast and to protect colonial merchants and officials around the castle.
In 1844, these troops were taken over by the British colonial authorities and became the "Gold Coast Militia and Police". In 1871 when the British assumed full sovereignty over the Gold Coast, the 90 men in the Police force was reinforced with 400 foreign Hausa men from northern Nigeria and some foreign Sierra Leonians as well as men from the Northern Territories. All the commissioned officers at the time were British. The force became the "Gold Coast Constabulary" in 1876. The Police Ordinance, passed in 1894, gave legal backing to the formation of a civilian police force in the colony. By 1902, the police had been divided into General, Escort, Mines and Railway Police and this was legalised by the Police Ordinance of 1904. A Marine Police unit was formed in 1906 but was replaced by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service in 1942. The Criminal Investigation Department was established in 1922. Following the riots of 1948 led by the Big Six, the Special Branch and the Police Reserves Unit was formed for riot control and prevent destabilization of the government. The Special Branch was to gather intelligence though it was also used to hound political opponents. The Reserves unit was known to deal harshly with street demonstrators and protestors. The Wireless and Communications Unit was opened in June 1950. A women's branch was established with 12 officers in 1952. The Police College was opened in 1959. Prior to this, all officers were trained in the United Kingdom. Ghana has now sought to secure advanced training programs from World Police Academy Canada and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Ireland
The first Ghanaian to head the Ghana Police was E. R. T. Madjitey, who was appointed on October 9, 1958.
Read more about this topic: Law Enforcement In Ghana
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