ASHANTI POLICE HARD ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDERS

The Ashanti Regional Police Command is prosecuting many more cases of criminal domestic violence at the law courts ranging defilement, rape, assault, indecent assault to theft of children. 

As at August last year, a total of 130 such domestic violent cases were pending at the various courts of law from which 49 had been successfully prosecuted, convicted and given various sentences. 

Speaking to Ashanti Today in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional DOVVSU Coordinator, DSP Benjamin Dokrugu noted that the sentencing of the offenders included imprisonment, bonding for specific period of years and fines while about nine of the accused were discharged by the Courts for the lack of incriminating evidence against them. 

Showing records to prove his claims, DSP Dokrugu noted that in the prosecution of sexual offences, the jail terms of the convicted offenders ranged from three to 22 years in hard labour for defilement and rape. 

Some people were also convicted and jailed for years in hard labour while others were bonded for months and years for offences such as threatening their spouses with deaths, stealing children from the other partners, committing indecent assault or for non-maintenance of their children. 

The fines ranged from one hundred Ghana Cedis to 400 Ghana Cedis. Giving further details of the incidence of domestic violence in the region, the Ashanti Regional DOVVSU Coordinator reported cases of defilement in the region shot up from 131 in 2013 to 158 last year with the cases of incest also increasing from one to four during the same period. 

DSP Dokrugu said reported cases of rape on the other hand, reduced from 36 in 2013 to 30 last year, while the cases of legally married persons in polygamous marriage saw an appreciation from four in 2013 to eight the following year.

 Such offenders, according to DSP Dokrugu, are still standing trial at the law courts to serve as a deterrent to other married persons who intend to abuse the law on marriage. 

He expressed serious concern about the astronomical rise in the reported cases of parental neglect which rose from 866 in 2013 to 959 last year. 

According to him, that should be the concern of every well meaning Ghanaian in view of the serious  repercussion on the larger society, especially in terms of social deviance and delinquency. 

He therefore appealed to parents to play their roles to ensure proper development and upbringing of their children into responsible adulthood.