Public relations practice in the Ghana police service

Abstract

The study sought to investigate and describe the nature of Public Relations practice in the Ghana Police Service. This followed the limited assessment of the nature of Public Relations practice within the Service by previous studies. The study is qualitative in nature and data was taken from interviews using a semi-structured interview guide while the coorientation theory and Public Relations roles theory were employed for the analysis of the nuances of Public Relations practice in the Service. Findings of the study reveal that even though Public Relations is visibly seen to be located at management on the organisational chart of the Police Service, the practitioners sit in management meetings merely as “observers” since the management function role of the Public Relations practitioners has been relegated to the background. The study confirmed that although the Public Relations practitioners employed both two-way and one-way methods of communication, the practitioners were gradually gravitating more towards the use of two-way communication which is seen in Public Relations as the best approach to engaging the publics of an organisation. The study concludes that although the Public Relations units of the Ghana Police Service have been fraught with huge challenges, the police Public Relations officers have always been at the fore-front in communicating the rules of engagement of the service to its numerous publics.