Joining the Police

Dear Reader,

The question on the eligibility for police recruitment escaped my attention. I apologise for it. Please see some information below.


Qualifications and Competencies

• Must be a Ghanaian citizen by birth with no criminal record.
• Hold SSSCE/WASSCE Certificate with four (4) credits including English Language and at least a pass in Mathematics.
• A minimum age of 18 and not more than 25 years.
• Physically fit by Police standards
• Of a minimum height of 1.73 metres (5ft 8in) for Males and 1.63 metres (5ft 4in) for Females

How to Apply

Interested candidates should pick up application forms from the various Regional and District EMS Offices scattered across the country, complete them and send through the EMS system to the address below. An application fee of GHC20.00 is to be paid at the EMS Offices. All applicants who were previously shortlisted are requested to re-apply, produce receipts of previous payments and pay the difference of GHC9.00.

The Director-General/HRD
Ghana Police Service
Police Headquarters
P O Box GP 116
Accra

For more information, see the Ghana Police Service website here.

Pupillage, Specialization and Developing Areas of the Law in Ghana

1. While the law on the legal profession has provisions on pupillage, there are no fine detail on how it must be done. It is one's choice whether to do pupillage in a specializing law firm or an all-practice law firm - of course, one must be good enough to be recruited first by the law firm. There are not a whole of of firms in Ghana specializing. It even appears to me that - in the more developed countries - there is a move-back from specialization to all-practice 'boutique' firms again. You have to decide where you want to do your pupillage for yourself - bearing in mind what you want to practice in. Personally, I would more likely advise an all-practice.

2. There is no reason why you cannot specialize in "crime, contracts, employment, corporate law and wills & probate." But you may make the practice more 'rounded' by putting employment under corporate - because that is how it works usually - and doing family law - instead of just W & P. You need to think about whether you want to do criminal law together with the rest - which are all civil law. There are many factors of workload. One may be how many areas of practice you take up. I suspect however that the bigger factor is simply the quality of your clientele, complexity of matters you are dealing with and numbers of matters too.

3. Pupillage runs for 6 months - sometime after you are called to the bar in Ghana. It does not have to be immediate but - without it - there is a solicitor's certificate you need - but cannot obtain - to practise. You can only lawfully do pupillage under a lawyer who has practised the law for at least 7 years. Most people like to do their pupillage immediately after the call to the bar.

4. It is difficult to call any area of the law developing as such in this emerging economy. Let me rather tell you about industries which are promising - and they will need legal advice! Telecommunications is hot - I think. The financial services are hot too. There are many Small and Medium-Scase Enterprises in need of day-to-day legal guidance in all manner of matters. I have to say Oil-and-Gas too, although I admit I have a personal skepticism about whether it will really become 'hot'. I think 4 out of every 5 post-graduate degrees obtained by Ghanaian lawyers now will be in Oil-and-Gas. M&As are still not big in Ghana. Competition law is nascent at best. On another level - dispute resolution - Arbitration is fast gaining on Litigation as the preferred means of resolving disputes, especially by medium and big corporations.

Contacting the Ghana School of Law

For those wishing to contact the Ghana School Law, you can reach the office of the Registar on the numbers below:

+233 302 66 32 46

+233 302 66 77 06

to ask all your questions.

I am sorry it took this long to post, but I have been ill and also had a minor domestic accident.