ABSTRACT
A number of published and unpublished studies have been devoted to the Ghana Police Service (GPS). They may be grouped under three headings. First, some of the studies, which form the largest number of studies on policing in Ghana, have focused on the historiography of policing (Young 1951; Jeffries 1952; Gillespie 1955; Ankama 1984; Anderson and Killingray 1991, 1992; Killingray 1991; Deflem 1994; Pokoo-Aikins 2002); the significance, causes, and types of violence in police operations and role performance (Ansah-Koi 1986; Aning 2002; Tankebe 2008a); and police administration (Ansah-Koi 1987; CHRI 2007). The second group of studies deals with monitoring police performance through their powers, actions, finances, and legal framework (Atuguba 2001; 2003; Aning 2002) and police accountability and types of accountability such as state control, independent external control,
Brief Country Context ......................................................................................... 66 Short History of the Ghana Police Service ........................................................ 67 Constitutional and Legal Frameworks Governing the Ghana Police Service ............................................................................................ 69 Police Corruption ................................................................................................. 71
Street-Level Bribery and Extortion ............................................................... 73 Bureaucratic Corruption .................................................................................74 Criminal Corruption ........................................................................................74
Police Reforms ...................................................................................................... 76 Strategies to Promote Internal Accountability ............................................. 77 Strategies to Promote External Accountability ............................................ 79
Conclusion: The Ghana Lessons ......................................................................... 80 References ...............................................................................................................81
internal control, and social accountability (CHRI 2007; Anamzoya and Senah 2011). Police legitimacy and trustworthiness and public trust are influenced by police effectiveness; hence, the absence of trust can hugely undermine the success of the police; some of the factors that have possibly undermined trust in the police include neglect, indifference, incompetence, venality, extortion, discrimination, intimidation, inconsistency, excessive use of force, and brutality (Karikari 2002; Goldsmith 2005; Tankebe 2008b; Boateng 2012). The third group of studies, which seems considerably small compared to the first two groups, is directed at police corruption and reform (Atuguba 2007; CHRI 2007; Quantson 2008; Aning et al. 2013; Nyarko 2014).
