The Incidence of Money Collected by the Ghana Police from Drivers during Routine Traffic Stops and Ad Hoc Road Blocks

Abstract

It is often said the Ghana Police force is corrupt without collaborating evidence. There is very little attempt to differentiate specific branches of the force from each other. There are those, whose Standard Operating Procedures involves road traffic duties, and those whose SOPs do not expose them to driver inducement to bribes. We conducted baseline, cross-sectional nation-wide study to determine the incidence of the police collecting money from drivers to support or rebut the perception and the reality of police corruption with specific attention to only traffic related corrupt practices. This study therefore relates only to the narrow issue of traffic-stop-driver-Police-bribery-and-corruption. The High Police such as the Bureau of National Investigation and the Economic and Organized Crime Office, were excluded as not forming an intrinsic part of the police force engaged in mundane road traffic police functions. We found evidence that supported the research question: That the Ghana Police engages in active intimidation of drivers, extract and demand for money from drivers of all classifications for cause and without cause. The traffic Police conduct these activities in the most blatant and public manner. These activities have contributed to the lessening of respect for the profession, the rule of law, and the general public belief that justice in Ghana correlates to size of expenditure to bribe law enforcement operatives. Road traffic corruption undermines road safety programs, national efforts to reduce money laundering or cross-border movement of terrorists and narcotics drug smuggling cells. This may have a linkage to the rising road traffic fatalities in significant ways. National action to arrest the diminishing respect for the Police is also needed.