Mr Emmanuel Kwamena Quarshie, Volta Regional Director, Youth Employment Agency (YEA), says the Agency has a strategic recruitment objective of employing 15,000 Community Policing Assistants (CPAs).
He said the first batch of 5,000 had successfully passed out and was currently working in various communities.
Mr Quarshie speaking at the passing out parade of the second batch intake of the 645 CPAs in Ho, said the batch comprised of 5,000 Assistants that passed out across six Police Training Schools in the country.
He said the training of the third batch would also commence in March, this year.
Mr Quarshie said the recruitment of the CPAs was to augment the Ghana Police force to increase visibility in communities with the ultimate objective of maintaining law and order, protect lives and property and enhance safety and security in communities.
He said other modules currently being run by the Agency were Community Health Workers (CHW), Youth in Prison Service and Youth in Sanitation, while Youth in Entrepreneurship module was also earmarked and would be rolled out this year.
Mr Quarshie said Youth in Agriculture and Afforestation, Community Education Teaching Assistants (CETA), Youth in ICT, and Youth in Coastal Sanitation were modules also earmarked to begin this year.
He said one of the challenges of the programme was the exit arrangements adding that the Agency was in the process of defining the exit routes for the recruits to be retained by the Ghana Police Service.
“A comprehensive exit arrangement is being developed together with the Ghana Police Service and it will be rolled out soon.”
Mr Quarshie urged the CPAs to go out to be good ambassadors of YEA and the Ghana Police Service.
He assured the CPAs of the Agency’s readiness to provide them with all the support that they required to offer dedicated and professional service to the country as Community Policing Assistants.
Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister who reviewed the Parade, commended the Assistants on undergoing the basic Police training to effectuate the opportunity of serving the good people of Ghana for the next two years.
He was optimistic about the Assistants executing the task ahead of them well by taking instructions from the officers of the Ghana Police Service under whom they would be serving.
Dr Letsa admonished them to conduct themselves appropriately with the understanding that they were not Police Officers.
He entreated them to be good ambassadors of the YEA while stressing the need for the Assistants to seize the opportunity to better themselves.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Andrews Boadu-Ekumah, Volta Regional Police Commander praised CPAs for their determination to support the Service to become total in the discharge of their mandate.
He said the Police Service was undergoing massive transformative initiatives aimed at regaining the lost trust and respect from the public.
He said CPAs bring policing to the doorsteps of the public with the Inspector General of Police directing all Divisional and District Commanders to support the personnel to discharge their duties without fear or favour.
DCOP Kwarteng urged the CPAs to show respect to all.
The number of trainees who passed out were 141 from the Volta, 177 from Oti and 327 from Eastern regions.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) launched the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) in 2006 known as the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
It is aimed at addressing the increasing rate of youth unemployment in the country at the time when the phenomenon was identified as a national security threat.
Source: newsghana.com.gh