The phone is out. The officer is angry. “Stop recording!” he shouts.
It’s a scene playing out from Circle to Tamale. A citizen films a police search, an arrest, or what looks like an assault. The officer orders them to stop, delete, or hand over the phone.
So who’s right? In Ghana, does a civilian have the right to record a police officer who is committing, or about to commit, a crime?
The short answer: Yes. There is no law preventing you from recording police activity in public spaces or in your home.
But the law has limits, conditions, and risks you should know.
1. The Constitution: Your Camera Is Your Voice
Article 21(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution guarantees “freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media.” In 2026, your smartphone is “other media.” It is a tool of public documentation.
Article 18 protects you from “arbitrary interference with privacy, property, or communication.” Forcing you to unlock your phone or delete footage without a court order raises “serious constitutional concerns.”
Legal expert Lom Nuku Ahlijah puts it plainly: “There is no law preventing a person from recording police activity in their home or in public spaces. Transparency protects both citizens and officers.”
A Police Officer, Alexander Obeng confirmed it: Motorists are “within their rights to film when they are being searched, arrested and transported to the police station or court.” He added: “That is guaranteed under our 1992 Constitution.”
2. The Laws That Back You Up
A. Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30)
Recording police during a stop-and-search or in the exercise of their official duties is legally permissible. You do not need the officer’s permission.
B. Police Service Standard Operating Procedures
The SOPs recognize the right to record officers on duty.
C. No ‘Secret Recording’ Ban for Public Officials
Ghana’s all-party consent rules apply to private communications. But “there is no explicit law in Ghana that prohibits a civilian from recording a public officer performing their duties in a public space, provided that such recording does not obstruct the officer’s work or compromise legitimate security operations”.
3. The Limits: When Recording Becomes an Offence
Your right to record is not a right to interfere.
A. Obstruction of a Police Officer
Section 10 of the Criminal Procedure Code says a police officer may arrest without warrant any person who “obstructs a police officer in the execution of his duty”.
Section 205 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 makes it a misdemeanour to “assault, obstruct, molest, or resist” a police officer acting in the execution of duty.
So: You can record from a safe distance. You cannot step into an arrest, block an officer, or refuse lawful orders to step back for safety reasons.
B. Private Spaces
Your home is protected. You can record police inside if they enter. But recording inside a police station or restricted areas may be limited by internal regulations, not criminal law.
C. Deleting Evidence
An officer who forces you to delete footage without a warrant may be abusing power. “Compelling the deletion of evidence may itself constitute an abuse of power”. Police cannot demand you delete footage. They need a warrant to seize or search your phone.
4. What If the Officer Is Committing a Crime?
If you witness an officer assaulting someone, planting evidence, or extorting money, recording is not only legal – it’s often the only evidence.
Ghana’s courts have not ruled directly on a “right to record police” case yet. But comparative precedent is persuasive. In the US case Glik v. Cunniffe, the court held that “videotaping of public officials is an exercise of First Amendment liberties” and that a citizen has a “constitutional right to videotape a public official in a public place.”
In Ghana, Article 21 serves a similar purpose to the US First Amendment. Legal analysts argue the same principle applies here.
5. Punishments: For You and For Them
If You Obstruct:
Obstructing a police officer is a misdemeanour under Section 205 of Act 29. Penalty: fine and/or up to 3 years imprisonment under the general misdemeanour provisions.
If They Stop You Illegally:
An officer who assaults you, seizes your phone without a warrant, or deletes footage may face:
– Disciplinary action under Police Service Regulations.
– Civil suit: You can sue the Ghana Police Service for breach of constitutional rights.
– Criminal charges: Assault, unlawful arrest, or abuse of office under the Criminal Offences Act.
The Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) investigates complaints against officers.
6. The Reality on the Ground
Despite the law, “practical risks of confrontation exist.” The 2024 US State Department Human Rights Report documented incidents of security officers acting with impunity against journalists who were recording.
In March 2026, artist Ibrahim Mahama alleged that police in Tamale forced him to unlock his phone and delete photos of an encounter.
So the right exists. Enforcement is uneven.
7. How to Record Safely and Legally
Do:
1. Record openly: Don’t hide the phone. Secret recordings of private conversations need consent. Recording public police conduct does not.
2. Keep your distance: Don’t interfere. If ordered to step back for safety, comply while still recording.
3. Narrate calmly: “I’m not interfering. I’m recording for my safety.”
4. Back it up: Use auto-upload to cloud so deleting the phone doesn’t destroy evidence.
Don’t:
1. Touch the officer or suspect.
2. Refuse lawful orders related to safety, like “step onto the sidewalk.”
3. Record in restricted military zones without clearance.
In Ghana, you have the constitutional right to record a police officer in public, including when the officer is committing or about to commit a crime. No law bans it.
Your camera is legal. Your interference is not.
The officer’s duty is to the law, not to avoid being filmed. Your duty is to record the law, not obstruct it.
When both sides know the rules, “transparency protects both citizens and officers.”
_If your rights are violated, file a complaint with the Police Professional Standards Bureau, CHRAJ, or seek legal redress in court. Article 14 of the Constitution protects you from unlawful arrest and detention.
Key Laws Cited:
– 1992 Constitution, Article 21(1)(a): Freedom of expression
– 1992 Constitution, Article 18: Privacy and property
– Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30), Section 10: Obstruction
– Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), Section 205: Assault/obstruction of public officer