COGANJ Receives Gifts on behalf of Ghana Police

By Kwabena Opong

The Council of Ghanaian Associations of New Jersey (COGANJ) received on behalf of the Nima Police Station in Accra a number of policing paraphernalia from the Essex County Sheriff at Newark, NJ. The presentation made at the offices of the County Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura was a follow-up to the visit of Police Superintendent Aduhene, commander of the Nima Police Station in Fall 2012.

Receiving the Council members, County Sheriff Fontoura explained the work of his office and recalled the good old days of policing and how his office is coping with the rising rate of crime in his jurisdiction. He said sophisticated methods of crime detection together with modern technology have facilitated police work. He mentioned the soaring incidence of gang violence and carjacking in the area and added that the disregard for life and safety by criminals has made it necessary for the intensification of police work. Patrols have been intensified in the highly populated areas of the county. Sheriff Fontoura stated that his office has a drug enforcement unit that works with the federal drug enforcement officers, and an efficient canine unit. In addition, he supervises bomb squads and emergency services.

The County Sheriff told the Ghanaians that his outfit works with FEMA during emergencies and added that they cooperated with the federal agency during the Sandy storm.

Sheriff Fontoura revealed that he came to the United States from Portugal as a child and never spoke a word of English.

He acknowledged his office is ready provide training to the Ghana Police Service in several areas of modern policing.

The COGA delegation was led by Dr. Zachary Yamba, formerly the president of Essex County College who is a longtime friend of Sheriff Fontoura.

The Executive Secretary General of COGANJ Kwaku Amo read a thank you letter from Commander Aduhene of Nima Police Station.

The visitors were made honorary sheriff’s deputies and presented with caps and identity cards.

Posted by admin on Feb 18 2013. Filed under top stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry