He said growing dynamics in international crimes required police prosecutors to upgrade their skills in criminal prosecution and other relevant aspects of the law.

The IGP was speaking at the closing session of the ninth and final batch of 50 police prosecutors who have been trained by the LADA Institute with a grant from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

Since the training programme started in January 2016, 450 police prosecutors drawn from the 10 regions have been trained in criminal prosecution, Ghana’s legal systems, the Constitution and constitutional principles, criminal law, law of evidence and trial advocacy.

Relevance

The IGP said the initiative by the LADA Institute was timely, given that international crimes such as money laundering, terrorism and child trafficking were complex and required prosecutors who were adept in handling them.

He said the feedback the Police Administration had received from the courts concerning police prosecutors who received the training was so encouraging.

While appealing to the funding agency to expand the scope to include other police officers, especially investigators, Mr Asante-Apeatu urged the beneficiaries to live above reproach in the performance of their duties.

Prosecutors urged

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, lauded the LADA Institute for the initiative.

He urged police prosecutors who had been trained to read their training materials regularly and also consult with state attorneys on nagging issues.

The interior minister called for effective collaboration among all actors in the prosecution chain as the best way to ensure an efficient justice system.

“It is also important to be time conscious and be alert at all times because criminal elements will always try to be ahead,” Mr Dery said.

A member of the LADA Group Board, Mrs Christine Dowuona-Hammond, said the institute had put in place the next phase of the initiative, which involved monitoring the performance of the 450 trained prosecutors.

“The second phase of the programme, which will start in the third week of April, will include extensive monitoring, mentoring and evaluation, as well as refresher training sessions in the regions,” she said. 

Other speakers urged the trained prosecutors to put the knowledge they had acquired to practice to improve on justice delivery.