GHANA POLICE SERVICE INTEGRATING CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICING INTO THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE (GPS) MAPPING REPORT SUMMARY OCTOBER 2016 INTEGRATING CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICING INTO THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE (GPS) MAPPING REPORT SUMMARY OCTOBER 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................1 A. BACKGROUND TO THE INITIATIVE TO INTEGRATE CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICING INTO THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE .................................................................................................4 B. A WORKING METHODOLOGY BASED ON COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP ......................6 i. Review of the literature ................................................................................................................... 6 ii. Framing Workshop .......................................................................................................................... 6 iii. Bilateral interviews .......................................................................................................................... 6 iv. Interviews with members of the Police Service ........................................................................... 7 v. Visits to Police Training Schools ..................................................................................................... 7 vi. Interviews with children .................................................................................................................. 7 C. JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN: THEORY AND PRACTICE .......................................................................8 1. Formal Justice System .......................................................................................................................9 i. Legislative Framework ................................................................................................................... 9 ii. Institutional Framework................................................................................................................ 18 iii. Non-State Actors Working toward Justice for Children ............................................................ 21 2. Informal Justice System .................................................................................................................. 23 3. Discussion with Key Stakeholders on Justice for Children .......................................................... 24 D. OTHER KEY FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS ................................................................................26 i. Child Vulnerability in Ghana .............................................................................................................26 ii. Children without Parental Care .......................................................................................................26 iii. Children in Conflict with the Law .....................................................................................................27 iv. Child-Friendly Policing in Ghana ......................................................................................................28 a. Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Police (DOVVSU) .......................................28 b. Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) ........................................................................................... 31 c. Judicial Police (JUPOL) .................................................................................................................32 v. Police Procedures for Handling Children....................................................................................... 33 vi. Existing Tools used by the Police .................................................................................................... 33 INTEGRATING CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICING INTO THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE (GPS) i MAPPING REPORT SUMMARY vii. Recordkeeping Practices in the GPS .............................................................................................. 34 viii. Police Interactions and Perceptions of Children ........................................................................... 36 ix. Children’s Perceptions of the Police ............................................................................................... 40 a. Children who have already come into conflict with the law ......................................................40 b. Children likely to come into conflict with the law ....................................................................... 41 c. Children not likely to come into conflict with the law ................................................................. 41 E. TRAINING OF POLICE IN CHILD RIGHTS’ PROTECTION .............................................................. 42 1. General Information on the National/Regional Police Training Schools (RPTS) ........................ 43 a. Police Recruitment ........................................................................................................................43 b. Teaching Personnel .......................................................................................................................43 c. Curriculum......................................................................................................................................44 2. General Information on the Specialised Training Schools ............................................................ 46 F. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................47 1. General System Strengthening Recommendations from Stakeholders ......................................47 a. Legislation ...................................................................................................................................... 47 b. Institutions ...................................................................................................................................... 47 c. Programmes/Services ..................................................................................................................48 d. Policies/Procedures ......................................................................................................................48 e. Capacity Building of Personnel .................................................................................................... 49 2. Recommendations to Improve Police Handling of Children in Contact with the Law ..................49 ANNEX 1 – INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS OF GHANA IN THE FIELD OF CHILD PROTECTION ...... 53 ANNEX 2 – SYNTHESIS OF TARGET GROUPS MET DURING DATA COLLECTION ................................52 INTEGRATING CHILD-FRIENDLY POLICING ii INTO THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE (GPS) MAPPING REPORT SUMMARY LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Key Domestic Child Protection Laws and Policies .........................................................................9 Table 2 - Other Relevant Legislation on Child Justice and Protection .......................................................12 Table 3 - Procedures to protect child victims and witnesses .....................................................................12 Table 4 - Procedures to protect children in conflict with the law ...............................................................15 Table 5 - Child Protection Institutions, Actors and their Mandate ..............................................................19 Table 6 - Key international and national non-state organisations working on justice for children ...... 22 Table 7 - Stakeholder Collaboration Offers of Support .............................................................................. 25 Table 8 - Number of Children Arrested by Regular Police and DOVVSU ................................................. 27 Table 9 - Number of Children in Detention ................................................................................................... 28 Table 10 - Volta Region AHTU Case Statistics .................................................................................................31 Table 11 - Police Estimates regarding Child-Related Crimes and Their Frequency ................................ 37 Table 12 - Active Duty Police Perspectives – Challenges and Recommendations for Handling Children ...................................................................................................................... 37 Table 13 - Children interviewed ....................................................................................................................... 40 Table 14 - Content of the Police Service Training Curriculum ..................................................................... 44 Table 15 - Learning needs according to recruits ........................................................................................... 45 LIST OF DIAGRAMS Diagram 1- Legislative process for handling juveniles ...................................................................................15 Diagram 2- DOVVSU Child-Related Offences 2013 ........................................................................................ 30 Diagram 3- Police Procedures for Investigations (example of