Security analyst, Adib Saani, has called for the Ghana Police Service recruitment portal to be linked to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to prevent applicants from using forged academic certificates to gain entry into the service.
He described the development as a serious national security concern, arguing that recruits who eventually become police officers are entrusted with operational responsibilities, access to critical intelligence and training in areas including weapons handling and dealing with criminals.
Speaking to Isaac Addae on Morning Starr on Starr FM, Mr Saani said the ability of applicants with allegedly fake certificates to progress to training institutions raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of background checks within the police recruitment process.
According to him, the issue raises questions about the personal integrity of individuals who are able to gain entry into the security services through forged documents.
Mr Saani said the situation is particularly worrying because similar incidents have occurred in the past, with some recruits previously being asked to leave training after issues with their documents emerged.
He believes the recurrence of such cases points to a major gap in the recruitment process and requires urgent accountability from the authorities responsible for recruitment.
He siad one practical way of addressing the problem is to connect the police recruitment portal directly to WAEC to allow applicants’ academic results to be verified as part of the recruitment process.
“You don’t need exceptional skill sets to connect the portal to WAEC. It is very basic,” he said.
Mr Saani questioned why such a system has not been implemented if verifying the authenticity of academic results remains a challenge during recruitment.
He argued that if the authorities are unable to establish the authenticity of applicants’ certificates at the recruitment stage, it raises further questions about the extent of background checks being conducted before recruits are admitted into training.
Mr Saani also called for the affected recruits to be prosecuted rather than simply dismissed from training.
“Arguing that sending the recruits home alone may not provide sufficient deterrence to others who may consider using fraudulent documents to gain entry into the security services”. “Forging is a crime,”he said,
He maintained that recruits who are eventually entrusted with weapons, sensitive intelligence and operational responsibilities must undergo thorough screening to ensure that only qualified and trustworthy individuals are admitted.
“The latest development should therefore be treated as a serious national security matter and urged the authorities to strengthen the recruitment and verification systems to prevent similar incidents in the future”. he said
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Pamela Quayson
