Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has clarified a comment that recently sparked debate online about police recruitment numbers in Ghana.
The chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) explained that his remark, “If we recruit all these people, where will we get thieves to catch?”, was meant to highlight the imbalance between the number of applicants and the actual number of officers the country requires.
According to him, more than 500,000 people applied for security service jobs even though the intended recruitment target was around 50,000.
He said the numbers simply do not match Ghana’s policing needs or financial capacity.
“There would be no money to pay them if we recruit far beyond what the system requires,” he stated.
Asiedu Nketiah pointed to international benchmarks to support his argument. He said the United Nations recommends a ratio of one police officer for every 500 citizens.
Using Ghana’s estimated population of about 35 million, he explained that the country would need roughly 70,000 to 80,000 police officers to meet that standard.
“When you divide Ghana’s population by 500, you get around 80,000 officers needed,” he said.
For him, the figures show that recruiting hundreds of thousands of applicants into the police service would be unrealistic both operationally and financially.
