RTC BUZZ

Published December 03, 2018

October was a fairly busy month at the RTC. We successfully ran four different trainings ranging from investigative to leadership themes which presented novel experiences for the RTC team.

The first course dealt with how to properly investigate public corruption cases. It was a lively class made up of lawyers, prosecutors, investigators, police officers and additional law enforcement professionals, with experience levels ranging between two and thirty years. The FBI instructor team did an excellent job of exposing participants to presentations, videos and documentation of case studies of different corruption situations and discussing the type of techniques used by the FBI to investigate those cases. Instructors encouraged participants to utilize the strategies within their countries to help advance their mission of fighting corruption.

The month progressed with another delivery from the FBI on how to conduct investigations focusing on money laundering activities within casinos. It was an all Ghanaian class with the majority of participants from the Gaming Commission of Ghana. The experience and credibility of the instructor team contributed to the successful execution of the course, combined with several case studies showing how money laundering is performed during casino operations. At the end of the training, the Commissioner of Ghana’s Gaming Commission - Mr. Peter Kwame Antwi Mireku expressed his profound appreciation to the US government for the support and exposure to the relevant skill set needed to detect and deter money laundering activities.

The RTC also facilitated a leadership program for women in law enforcement with participants from Ghana, la Cote D' Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Guinea. It was great to welcome back Tracy from FLETC who had previously delivered a similar course at the RTC. Ghana’s Inspector General of Police - Mr. David Asante - Apeatu encouraged participants to challenge themselves to develop effective leadership skills in a male dominated career environment. We hosted a panel discussion on the final day of the training, where senior female representatives from the Ghana Police and Immigration Services, shared leadership principles highlighting issues and challenges faced by women in law enforcement. We also included female students from local high schools and colleges, to be part of this year’s discussion, with the goal of encouraging young women to consider careers in law enforcement. 

We concluded the month of October with a high-level workshop on the Unites States (U.S.) – Ghana Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership. In attendance were representatives from the U.S. Government (USG) and the Government of Ghana (GoG) focal Ministries- the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department as well as the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations.

The ministerial leads provided reports of the progress made and challenges encountered in combatting child trafficking in Ghana. In his closing remarks, the US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Christopher J. Lamora, pledged USG support to the GoG, in the fight against Child Labor and Trafficking in Persons.

Stay tuned for more updates in our next newsletter.