Officers of the Ghana Police Service.

Crime in Ghana is investigated by the Ghana Police Service.

Crime by type

Murder

Further information: List of countries by intentional homicide rate

Ghana had a murder rate of 1.68 per 100,000 population in 2011.[1]

Corruption

Main article: Corruption in Ghana

Human trafficking

Main article: Human trafficking in Ghana

Ghana is a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.[2] The nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, is more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants.[2] The movement of internally trafficked children is either from rural to urban areas, or from one rural area to another, as from farming to fishing communities.[2]

Ghanaian boys and girls are subjected to conditions of forced labor within Ghana in fishing, domestic servitude, street hawking, begging, portering, and agriculture.[2] Ghanaian girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation within Ghana.[2]

Women and girls from China, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso have been subjected to forced prostitution after arriving in Ghana.[2] Citizens from other West African countries are subjected to forced labor in Ghana in agriculture or involuntary domestic servitude.[2] Trafficking victims endure extremes of harsh treatment, including long hours, debt bondage, lack of pay, physical risks, and sexual abuse.[2]

Domestic violence

Main article: Domestic violence in Ghana

Domestic violence is prevalent in Ghana,[3] owing in part to a deep cultural belief that it is socially acceptable for men to discipline their wives physically.[4][5][6][7] Around one in three women in Ghana experience domestic violence.[8]

In 2007 the Ghanaian government created the Domestic Violence Act in an attempt to reduce violence against women.[9] The act encountered significant resistance from cultural conservatives and local religious leaders who believed that such a law would undermine traditional African values, and that Western values were being implemented into law.[10][11][12]

Illegal mining

Main article: Galamsey

Galamseyers are illegal gold miners.[13] Their activities have depleted Ghana's forest cover and caused water pollution, due to the crude and unregulated nature of the mining process.[13] In 2017, Operation Vanguard was launched to curb illegal artisanal mining in Ghana.

Fraud

Main article: Sakawa

Sakawa is a Ghanaian term for illegal practices which combine modern Internet-based fraud with African traditionalist rituals.[14] The rituals, which are mostly in the form of sacrifices, are intended to spiritually manipulate victims so that the scammer's fraud is successful.[15][16][17][18][19]

Cybercrime

Main article: Cybercrime in Ghana

References

  1. ^ "Intentional homicide victims | Statistics and Data". dataunodc.un.org. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ghana". Trafficking in Persons Report 2010. U.S. Department of State (June 14, 2010). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Domestic Violence in Ghana" (PDF). Statsghana.gov.gh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  4. ^ Nancy Chi Cantalupo. "Domestic Violence in Ghana: The Open Secret" (PDF). Scholarship.law.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  5. ^ "Spousal murders in Ghana worrying". Graphic. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  6. ^ "In Ghana, changing the belief in violent discipline". UNICEF. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Domestic violence on ascendancy - Today Newspaper". 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Violence Against Women in Ghana". GBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2017.((cite news)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "GHA103468.E" (PDF). Justice.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  10. ^ "Domestic Violence Bill Passed At Last". Modernghana.com. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Microsoft Word - Domestic Violence Act 732" (PDF). S3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  12. ^ "Lessons from Ghana:The Challenges of a Legal Response to Domestic Violence in Africa" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  13. ^ a b Gyekye, Joyce. "MD of Ghana Water Company Limited says fight against galamsey is being lost". Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  14. ^ Darko, Sammy (10 May 2015). "Inside the world of Ghana's internet fraudsters". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 4 March 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Internet Scamming in Ghana". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  16. ^ Abubakar, Zulaihatu (2012-09-22). "Sakawa Guy Confesses". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  17. ^ "Six teenagers engage in mysterious Sakawa deal | General News 2012-12-30". GhanaWeb. 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  18. ^ Akwetey-Okunor, Isaac (2012-06-22). "Sakawa coffin exhibited in public | Ghanaian Chronicle". The Ghanaian Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  19. ^ Dzandu, Sammy (2013-06-03). "The sakawa menace ...Any solutions | features". Daily Graphic. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2013-12-05.

See also

Category