Public Relations Practice in the Security Services: A Comparative Study of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces

Abstract

This study sought to assess Public Relations practice in the security services, using the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces as the study organisations. The study sought to achieve three specific objectives; compare the position of Public Relations in the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces identify the roles played by the Public Relations practitioners in the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces, investigate and describe the communication strategy employed by Public Relations departments in the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces, as well as find out the challenges the Public Relations departments face in the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces. The study employed the descriptive research design. The use of this type of design helps to accurately describe a population, situation or phenomenon. The population from which the sample was drawn consisted of all those service staff (both GPS and GAF) living in the Greater Accra Region and having an understanding of how the institutions public relations work. The study sampled 50 respondents through the simple random sampling technique. The questionnaire was the main instrument used in collecting data. Lastly, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform the analysis. The design employed helped in identifying the fact that the Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service work with the institutions’ public information structures, and that Public Relations officers are attached to developing and managing the institutions communication strategy among others. The study also revealed poor financing of the institutions of Public Relations department and the politicization of the issues of the institutions due to the nature of the politics as the challenges confronting the Public Relations department. The study thus recommended the need for proper budgetary allocations to be made in order to help Public Relations department play their role effectively.