Superintendent Owoahene Acheampong, the Asokwa Municipal Police Commander is advocating the extension of training on Ghana’s Case Tracking System (CTS) for more personnel to build their capacities for effective implementation.
He said training more personnel would ensure constant use of the system even when those who had already been trained are not available to ensure speedy trial of criminal cases.
He was speaking during a public education exercise held at Atonsu-Bokuro in the Asokwa Municipality as part of awareness creation about the CTS.
CTS is integrated software that tracks criminal cases in the justice delivery system from their inception until their disposition.
It was launched by the Government of Ghana in 2018 with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide a common platform for easy tracking of cases and communication between the justice institutions.
The institutions include the Office of the Attorney General, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Legal Aid Commission, Economic and Organised Crime Office and the Judicial Service.
As part of the awareness creation, the USAID is supporting three Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Legal Resources Centre and Crime Check Foundation to implement a project dubbed, “USAID Justice Sector Support Activity.”
It also seeks to strengthen the CTS through citizen engagement, empowerment, and the voice to demand accountability and improve services.
The public education was, therefore, organised by the Muslim Family Counselling Services, a local implementing partner, to create awareness about the CTS to promote accountability and transparency in the justice delivery system.
Superintendent Acheampong said the CTS was a game changer which had injected efficiency in the prosecution of criminal cases, especially with the elimination of the use of papers as case dockets.
“Now I can sit in my office and monitor cases in all stations within my jurisdiction courtesy the CTS,” he observed.
He mentioned unstable internet connectivity and electricity as some of the challenges hindering the implementation of the system.
Mr Tijani Mahmoud, the Programmes Manager of Muslim Family Counselling Services, said the CTS allowed for easy and quick sharing of information on cases among justice institutions.
Delays in serving justice due to several challenges, such as missing case dockets, slow processing of documentation among the justice institutions and overlooking of court dates for remand prisoners are some of the issues the CTS seeks to address, he noted.
“We are also educating the public on the functions of the Legal Aid Commission for those who cannot afford to pay legal fees when they are involved in cases to patronize their services,” he said.
He said it was important to create awareness about all these services to provide options for the public, especially the poor and vulnerable to seek justice whenever their rights were being abused.
