The Ashanti Region followed with 158 cases representing 17 per cent and Eastern Region recorded 155 cases, representing 17 per cent.

 Upper West Region recorded the least public safety and crimes events with 15 cases, representing two per cent.

 Nana Yaw Akwada, the Executive Director of Bureau of Public Safety, announced this at the launch of the Ghana Public Safety and Crime Watch Report, in Accra.The report provides organised information to policy makers, law enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders to create a safer and a more secure society by highlighting public safety and crimes issues for awareness creation.

The report captured 919 cases between July 2017 and June 2018 in all the regions, which resulted in more than 2,219 casualties with 816 deaths.

The cases reported were captured under seven classifications: Crimes and Violent Crimes; Transportation-related Incidents; Civil Disturbances; Police Officer Casualties; Workplace and Fire Incidents; Natural Disasters; and General Incidents.

Explaining the methodology for the report, Mr Akwada said data was captured daily across 10 news portals for the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018.The portals are www.ghananewsagency.org, www.myjonline.com, www.starrfmonline.com, www.citifmonline.com, www.peacefmonline.com, www.kasapafmonline.com, www.adomfmonline.com, www.graphic.com.gh, www.3news.com and www.gbcghana.com.

Focusing on the cases outlook, the Executive Director said the report reveals that 377 cases were reported over the period captured as Crime/Violent Crimes - 214 cases were recorded as general incidents; 125 cases recorded under the Transportation-related incidents; and 106 cases were captured as Civil Disturbances.

Also, he stated that Fire and Workplace-related incidents were 53 cases; Natural Disaster incidents -30 cases and Police Officer Casualties - 14 cases.Based on the report, Mr Akwada recommended effective enforcement of the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (L.I 2180) with special focus on Regulation 125 on Continuing Education of Commercial Vehicle Drivers and Regulation 163 on General Speed Limits.

The report calls on the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to be more engaging in matters that result in deaths to ensure that deliberate cases of premeditated murders do not pass as mere accidents.

The report recommends the Ghana Police Service to institute a uniform system for the collection and dissemination of crime statistics across the country, similar to the National Incident Based Reporting System implemented by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in the USA.

“We need to incorporate fire prevention and basic life support curricular at the basic, primary, and secondary levels of education to instil the knowledge of safety and first aid among the school children,” it added.

In a speech read on behalf of Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of the Interior, he commended the Bureau for the comprehensive report, saying, the information would serve as a guide for Government and stakeholders to develop new approaches in dealing with public safety and crime-related issues.

The Minister said it was critical because without peace and security, it would be difficult to ensure sustainable development, stressing that the Government would continue to support the security agencies to meet its mandate of ensuring safety and security across the country.

The Bureau for Public and Safety is an NGO working with government agencies and stakeholders to improve the quality of public health through advocacy, education and development of programmes for sustainable development.