Armed Robbery

The wild, wild, west has knew meaning.  Ghana, West Africa is becoming the new breeding grounds for a dangerous strain of thieves. Known for our hospitality and warm heartedness, Ghana seems to appear easy prey to some of the criminal element that has developed over the past few years of corruption and war in neighboring countries like Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.  Since the problem is growing so fast, legislators have not managed to seal cracks in the law that allow for considerable protection of the thief and almost no protection of the victim, thus also making it a viable business.

Victims have ranged from the passengers on our local tro-tros directly up to high ranking government officials, no one is exempt.  One incident involving the theft of over 30,000,000 cedis, 50 passports, and numerous other items took place directly opposite Ghana's Police Headquarters!  At high noon!

The proliferation of guns into the West African region has to be considered as one of the main causes.  With wars and civil unrest mounting in several of our surrounding countries, guns are being bought to arm the warring sides, with excesses made available to criminals.  It is only the law abiding citizen that finds difficulty in getting a gun and protecting his or her family.

The thieves generally come in a group of no less than six, each man armed, creating a huge sense of power which they like to throw around quite generously.  Generally, they will pay attention to patterns and then determine the best time to hit.  They usually await their victims at their home, charging in as you enter.  Once inside, they use brutality to get immediate submission, attacking women and children with no mercy.  Upon departure, they destroy all communicable tools and leave their victims in a locked room.

We, the citizens of Ghana request the government protects its people, not with a police state, but with better protected borders and legislation that deters the criminal, while protecting the victims.

Update 4/02:

During the second week in March, gunmen held up two police barriers in opposite ends of the city, confiscating all the guns from the police on duty.  This embarrassing event has managed to stay out of the newspapers, for the most part, but exist as a perfect example of how bad the situation as gotten.  Almost a week later, the police still refuse to return to the barriers, leaving a free entrance, in and out, for criminals to flow at their leisure.