The training of recruits at the Gold Coast [i.e. Ghana] Police Depot, 1940 - 1949
Scope and Contents
A series of British Official photographs (Crown Copyright Reserved). They each have the following typewritten caption on the reverse:
'The Gold Coast Police Force is composed of two branches, namely the General and Escort. The former are literate and in addition to patrol duties are employed in the more technical side of police work which requires a knowledge of evidence, the ordinances in force in the Gold Coast, traffic control, finger prints and the things necessary in the maintenance of law and order and the prevention and detection of crime.
The men of the Escort branch are in the main illiterate and come from the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast. They are employed in patrol duties, escorting specie, guards and work of a similar nature. They are also frequently and successfully used in the detection of crime.
The Police Training Depot is situated four miles from Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast, and is in charge of a Superintendent of Police. It is here that all recruits undergo a course of training, lasting six months.
Applicants for the G.P. Branch have to take an entrance examination in English composition, general knowledge and arithmetic. Before final acceptance all candidates are medically examined.
When these formalities have been completed the suitable applicants are required to make a declaration on oath that they will faithfully serve His Majesty the King. This they do according to their various religions as there are Christians, Mohammedans and Pagans among them.
Now the recruits are ready to begin their training and a typical days work is as follows:-
5.30am Reveille - clean and tidy rooms
6.30am Physical training
7 - 8am Breakfast and get into uniform
8 - 9.30am Drill
9.45 - 12.15 Class work
Lunch
2 - 3.30pm Continued Class work
3.30 - 6.30pm Free time for recreation and maintenance of equipment
6.30 - 7.30pm More Classes
Great attention is paid to physical fitness and it is interesting to note the increase in stature which the training, with regular food, produces at the end of six months.
The work of the police is hard and sometimes dangerous but its popularity can be judged from the fact that during the last year over 2,500 men have applied for 160 vacancies'.
Dates
- Creation: 1940 - 1949
Conditions Governing Access
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Language of Materials
English
General
SG.
Date information
DateText: Dated '1940s' in the original typescript catalogue..
Originator(s)
Unknown
Finding aid date
2003-11-11 15:35:24+00:00
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository
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