(OPINION) POLICE ON HORSEBACK-Yaro Kasambata writes

POLICE ON HORSEBACK

1. Personally, I admire police officers on horsebacks for one reason; the temperament of police officers on horses are far better than their counterparts on other means of patrols. Do you know why?…it takes patience to tame a horse and train it to respond to commands and discipline;
2. Horses panic sometimes, and the officer riding it must deploy patience, tact and persuasion to calm the horse down for the business of the day. Perhaps, these functional imperatives of handling horses make such police officer better in dealing with humans;
3. If it was practicable, every police officer must learn to handle a horse during their training before being deployed to deal with humans. It will make the officer better in dealing with the temperament of the people they police;
4. Besides, there are certain practices about law enforcement that will never change. The following are some centuries old practices of Policing that will never change:

i. Police on foot patrols: this is the most rudimentary of Policing. Policing started centuries ago with officers on foot when there were no vehicles and today even though human societies have advanced, foot patrols remain a key means of Police work. As the old saying goes, the feet of the police man will also be on the ground;

ii. Police on horse back: this century old method of patrolling is also one of the things about policing that will never change. In the days when there no cars, police patrolled the streets on horseback. Centuries down the line, horses have remained a tradition of policing in post-modern era that still remains relevant for a number of reasons:

a. Horses give police an advantage of height to observe a wide area especially in crowded cities. This makes the police officer able to see far and respond quickly to petty crimes;

b. Horses are agile and suitable in pursuing petty thieves in crowded areas. Horses can charge at high speed to give the officer a head start in apprehending suspects in crowded places;

c. Horses are big and very visible. This enhances the idea of police visibility in urban cities;

d. When you see police on horseback in Accra, I bet you will stop and look at them and probably approach the mounted officer to sooth your curiosity about the horse. A conversation may ensue between the officer and the curious citizen thereby enhancing citizen-police-relations;

1. The decision by new IGP, Mr. George Akuffo Dampare to deploy police on horsebacks as part of a mix of approaches in urban crime management is ideal for the reasons mentioned above;
2. Traditions as they say never die and centuries old practices of police on mounted horses is one of such good traditions of law enforcement that blends well with modernity.
3. My name is Kasambata Yaro, Coordinator of the Centre for Peace and Security Research of UPSA. My research interest is Policing and Law Enforcement.

By: Yaro Kasambata