Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, the police are widely perceived to be corrupt by Ghanaian households, with more than half of the surveyed households report having paid a bribe to the police in 2009.

The traffic police are known to extract unofficial fees directly from drivers. According to the US Department of State 2009, police officials in Ghana are repeatedly criticised for corruption or negligence of their duties and, in addition, for acting wrongfully with impunity. The same source further notes that low salaries, which are sometimes not paid on time, contribute to the tendency to solicit bribes.

Business Corruption

Companies report that both regular and traffic police are the most frequent recipients of unofficial payments. According to Transparency International Bribe Payers Index 2008, business executives perceived the police to be the most corrupt among a number of institutions. Furthermore, according to Global Integrity 2008, the police are often condemned in the media for demanding bribes when handling court cases and for demanding bribes from motorists during vehicle registration. Companies should thus be aware of the potential for encountering demands for bribes from the police when dealing with court matters and vehicle registration. According to a January 2010 article in Ghana Today, traffic police are known for taking bribes from commercial vehicles, especially in urban areas. An example of this was to be found when four police officers from the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit in January 2010 were caught on the Achimota Overpass towards Abeka Lapaz extorting money from commercial drivers.

In the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2007, more than a third of the surveyed companies pay for security in Ghana, while a much smaller part of these companies identifies crime, theft and disorder as major constraints to doing business in the country.

Political Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2009, the law enforcement agencies are not protected from political interference in practice. Likewise, appointments to the police are not always based on professional criteria, and party loyalties or personal relationships are often considered. Moreover, some law enforcement officials, most often high-level figures, reportedly enjoy protection from criminal investigations. The Inspector General of the Police is appointed by the President and can be removed without explanations.

The police are widely perceived as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country, but no law provides for an independent mechanism for citizens to complain about the police. Administrative mechanisms do exist, such as the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards unit that is established to address complaints and citizens can also complain to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice. However, according to Global Integrity 2009, there is a general perception that the police often protect its members when complaints are given, and several times police officers have defended police action even before investigations have started.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the reliability of Ghana's police services to enforce law and order a score of 4.2 on a 7-point scale (1 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 being 'can always be relied upon').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 56.8% of households who had contact with the police in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- The interviewed business executives assigned the police a score of 4.6 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt'), thus indicating the police as the most corruption-prone institution in Ghana.

Afrobarometer: Summary of Results Ghana 2008:
- 86% of Ghanaian households surveyed perceive the police to be involved in corruption.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- More than 42.6% of the surveyed companies pay for security in Ghana.

- 11.4% of companies surveyed identify crime, theft and disorder as a major constraint on doing business.