University of Cape Coast Fighting Robbery in Ghana

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST FIGHTING ROBBERY IN GHANA: RETHINKING THE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES BY EDGAR TAKYI AKONOR Thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Sociology CALL No. ACCESSION No. OUT3 CAT. CHECKED FINAL CHECKED MARCH 2019 DECLARATION Candidate’s Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere Candidates’ Signature: Name: Supervisors Declaration We hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this thesis were supervised in accordance with the guidelines of supervision of thesis laid down by the University of Cape Coast Principal Supervisor’s Signaturey/L^^^ Date: Name: M..... Xcmi ...0. feH .<£. Co-Supervisor’s Date: Name: ..... ii ABSTRACT Hardly a day passes without cases of robbery being reported in both the print and the electronic media. It is against this backdrop that the study: Fighting Robbery in Ghana: Rethinking the Policies and the Strategies was conducted to analyse the kind of policies and strategies that have informed robbery control in Ghana from 1993 to 2017. The study adopted the mixed method research design, using content analysis, interviews and survey methods. The study is predominantly qualitative in that no hard quantitative methods were applied. Firstly, back editions of newspapers such as Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times were analysed to find out the crime control strategies that were reported by the print media. The views of a cross-section of participants/respondents were solicited for the study. In addition, a survey was conducted among the general public to ascertain some aspects of the study, especially the general views on the subject. The study found that over period, the police service has applied a number of strategies including the use of criminal justice institutions, informants-led policing and the get-tough or zero tolerance approach and more. However, these strategies have not worked very well as robbery numbers or rates keep increasing. The study recommends rethinking of these methods of fighting robbery by introducing more proactive policing methods such as community policing and intelligence-led policing strategies. A four-pronged approach to crime control is proposed as a more viable option than the usual reactive policing strategies. iii KEY WORDS Control Crime Policy Prevention Robbery Strategies iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a considerable number people who have contributed in diverse ways to the production of this work. To all of them, I say I am eternally grateful for their time and contributions that made this thesis better. To those that I may forget to mention here, you know who you are and your contributions are reflected in the pages. I am particularly grateful to my supervisors Dr. Alex Somuah Obeng and Dr. Joseph Kingsley Adjei who worked with speed and dispatch to ensure the work was completed within the short time they took over when my former supervisors Prof. Stephen Bonsi and Prof. Kenneth Atteffuah could not continue on health grounds and other engagements. I would also like to thank all heads of Ghana Police Service past and present and their “men” who participated in the study, the Chief Director, Ministry of the Interior Mrs. Adelaide Annoh-Kumi and all the other institutions that I dealt with. Thanks for your support and assistance. I would also like to thank all the participants and the respondents for their roles in the production of this thesis. My thanks also go to Dr. William Boateng, head, Department of Sociology and Anthropology for his support and direction and to Prof. Francis Eric Amuquandoh for his encouragement and support. Other people who contributed in different ways include Jane, Jacobell, Abigail, and Francis. Through it all my greatest thanks go my wife, Lilian and my children who never wavered in their faith and patience even when 1 encountered lamentations and self-doubts. I am extremely grateful to my siblings Christy, Salomey, Beatrice, Margaret and David s for their prayers and fervent encouragement. v DEDICATION To my wife Lilian and wonderful children, Nana Osae, Owuraku Aforo and Maame Boatemaa vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION n ABSTRACT in KEY WORDS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v DEDICATION vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vn LIST OF TABLES xm LIST OF FIGURES xiv LIST OF ACRONYMS xv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 10 Objectives of the Study 14 Research Questions 14 Significance of the Study 15 Delimitations of the Study 16 Limitations of the Study 16 Organisation of the Study 17 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL APPROACHES ON CRIME Overview 19 Theoretical Explanations of Crime 19 Demonic Perspective 21 The Classical School of Criminology 24 vii The Rational Choice Theory of Crime 26 Policy and Crime Control Implications of the Choice Theories 29 Trait Theories-Biological and Psychological Explanations 29 Policy and Crime Control Implications of Trait Theory 37 The Social Structure Theories 38 Social Disorganisation 42 Policy Implications of the Social Structure Theory 45 Social Process Theories 46 Policy Implication of the Theory 50 Social Conflict, Critical Criminology and Restorative Justice 51 Policy Implication of Critical Theory 55 Developmental Theories: Life Course, Propensity and Trajectory 57 Policy Implications 62 Theoretical Framework for the Study 62 Summary 65 CHAPTER THREE: EMPIRICAL REVEIW Overview 67 The History of Robbery in Ghana 67 Definition of Robbery 71 Robbery as a Property Crime 73 Robbery as a Violent Crime 74 Types of Robbery and Robbers 75 Robbers’ Profile and their Motivation 80 Target Selection 83 Rational Robber 84 viii Weapon use and the Deployment of Violence 85 The Concept of Crime Prevention and Control 90 The Basic Principles Underlying the Guidelines for Crime prevention 93 Responses to Crime and Police Operational Strategies 96 The Get-Tough Approach 97 Zero-Tolerance Policing 100 Community Policing 102 Social Development 105 Opportunity Reduction 107 Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) 108 Informant-led Policing 111 Summary 113 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY Overview 114 Research Design 115 Philosophical Underpinnings of the Study 116 The Study Area/Institution 119 Legal Mandate of the Police Service 121 Study Population 123 Sample and Sampling Procedure 124 Data and Sources 127 Data Collection Instruments/Techniques 130 Data Collection Procedures 133 Validity and Reliability Issues 136 Access to the Study Institution and Participants 138 ix Pre-testing of Instruments 140 Data Processing and Analysis 140 Ethical Considerations 141 Summary 143 CHAPTER FIVE: FIGHTING ROBBERY IN GHANA: THE PAST Overview 145 Criminal Justice Approach to Robbery Control 146 Get-Tough Approach 151 Informant-led Policing 156 Community Policing and Watchdogs Committees 159 Miscellaneous Models 164 Effectiveness of the Crime Control Models 169 Summary 172 CHAPTER SIX: FIGHTING ROBBERY IN GHANA: THE PRESENT Overview 174 Brief Profile of the Respondents 175 General Public’sViews on Robbery 176 Respondents Views on the Level of Robbery and its Effects 179 National Crime Prevention/Control Policy 180 Extent to which Crime Control in Ghana Knowledge-Driven 184 Working in Partnership to Fight Robbery 187 The Current Institutional Arrangements and Mechanisms to Fight Robbery in Ghana 189 Security Councils and Crime Prevention/Controls 190 Current Robbery Control/Prevention Methods 193 x Visibility and Accessibility Policing 195 Theoretical Underpinnings of the Visibi lity/AccessibililyModel 197 Theoretical Underpinning of Police Operational Models 200 The Effects of the Visibility/Accessibility Policing on Robbery 201 The Mechanisms through which the Models Worked 205 Challenges to Fighting Robbery 208 Summary 217 CHAPTER SEVEN: FIGHTING ROBBERY: RETHINKING THE POLICIES AND THE STRATEGIES Overview 219 Fighting Robbery in Ghana: Policing Effectiveness 220 Proactive versus Reactive Policing 222 Measuring Policing Effectiveness 224 Fighting Robbery: Theory and Practice 230 Summary 236 CHAPTER EIGHT: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction 237 Summary 237 Main Findings 237 Conclusions 243 Recommendations 245 Contribution to Knowledge 251 Suggested Areas for Further Research 252 BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 xi APPENDICES ns APPENDIX A: Questionnaire for Respondents 275 APPENDIX B: Interview Guide 282 APPENDIX C: Bio Data of Participants 285 APPENDIX D: Robbery Control Study Consent Form 286 xii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1 Robbery Statistics from 2006-2013 9 2 Groups and Agencies that Participated in the Study 127 3 Strategies that have been used in the past to Control Robbery 146 4 The Views of Respondents on the Level of Robbery 179 5 Institutions that the Police have been Partnering to Fight Robbery 188 6 Reported Cases of three Major Crimes in Accra 202 7 National Robbery Rates from 2006-2016 204 8 Number of Cases sent to Court out of the True Cases Reported 227 9 Number of Cases sent to Court and Convictions Obtained 229 xiii LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1 Theoretical Framework 63 2 The Four-Pronged Robbery Control Model 232 xiv LIST OF ACRONYMS AARS Anti Armed Robbery Squad ACP Assistant Commissioner of Police AFRC Armed Forces Revolution Council AGs Attorney General’s AIC Australian Institute of Criminology AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ARA Armed Robbers Association

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