The Ghana Prisons Service is responsible for the safe custody of prisoners in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, as well as their welfare, reformation and rehabilitation. It is under the jurisdiction of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Administration

The prisons service is governed by the Prisons Service Council, an advisory and supervisory body. Its Functions includes advising the President on "matters of policy in relation to the organisation and maintenance of the prisons system in Ghana." The Prisons Headquarters in the Greater Accra region houses the Controller-General of Prisons and two Deputy Controller-General of Prisons, Seven Controllers of Prisons and other principal office holders. The current Director General of the service is Patrick Darko Missah.

Prisons

There are 47 prison establishments in Ghana, including twelve major male prisons. These male prisons are located in Akuse,

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

Sekondi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indus ...

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

Sunyani Sunyani is a city and the capital town of the Bono Region and the Sunyani Municipal District, Sunyani Municipal of Ghana. Sunyani had a population of 74,24at the 2010 population and housing census. The city consists mainly of the Bonos by tribe ...

Navrongo Navrongo is a town and the capital of Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Navrongo is the capital of Kassena-Nankana District – which is within the Upper East Region of ...

, Wa,

Tarkwa Tarkwa is a town and is the capital of Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal district, a district in the Western Region southwest of South Ghana. Tarkwa has a 2013 settlement population of 34,941 people. Economy Mining Tarkwa is noted as a centre of gold ...

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coa ...

, and

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

. The country also has seven major female prisons, located in Akuse, Ho, Nsawam, Sekondi, Sunyani, Kumasi, and Tamale. In addition, there are local prisons sited throughout the country. The James Camp Prison near

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, and Ankaful near Cape Coast, are both Open Camp Prisons. Ghana's prisons house between 11,000 and 14,000 inmates, with females forming approximately 2% of the prison population. Prisons in Ghana are classified based on their level of security, and on the activities undertaken at the various establishments: # In the Central Prisons, trade training facilities are provided to equip prisoners with employable skills for their effective reintegration into society. They take custody of long-sentenced prisoners. Central Prisons are the central points for all categories of prisoners, with the exception of condemned prisoners. # Local Prisons are mainly responsible for the safe custody and welfare of inmates, due to the lack of space for trade training activities. They usually take custody of short-sentenced prisoners. # Open Camp Prisons undertake agricultural activities to provide food and train inmates in modern agricultural practices. Prisoners who are about to be released are at times transferred to these facilities as transit to prepare them for their final release into society. # In Agricultural Settlement Camps, the level of security is quite relaxed; they are usually not fenced. The main objective is to train inmates in agricultural activities, and to produce enough food to supplement the feeding of inmates and generate some income for the Prisons Service.

Staff

The Ghana Prisons Service has 6,200 officers and staff. Twenty percent of the staff are women. In 2017 the staff strength of the service was 5,898.

Prison conditions

The main challenge that confronts the service is a persistent lack of funds. One effect of this, evident since 1972, is that the service is unable to ensure that convicts do not reoffend. Other challenges that face the service include

prison overcrowding Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners. The issues associated with prison overcrowding are not new, and have been brewing for many years. Dur ...

, lack of

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

, and poor prison infrastructure. Some of the prisons are extremely outdated. For example, the almost 400 years old James Fort Prison in Accra was in use as a prison until 2008. It was originally built for 200

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, but housed over 740 male and female prisoners. # Insufficient budget allocation for Reformation Programmes – prisoners are generally unskilled and unmotivated as they enter prison. There are many deficiencies to be corrected and funding is needed for the programmes to be effective. # Poor accommodation structures – old and weak structures and poor architectural designs unsuitable for long detention of people. Overcrowding often leads to poor sanitation and health problems. # Stigmatization of prisoners – stigmatization of prisoners leads to dejection and reoffending which lead to recidivism and high crime rate undermines efforts of reformation and rehabilitation of prisons. # Lack of support from public to reform and reintegrate prisoners after their release.

Human rights issues

Squalid conditions, poor food and overcrowding in Ghana's prisons were called "cruel,

inhuman and degrading treatment Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention ...

," by the UN in 2013. The extent of prison overcrowding is estimated to be higher than the government's official figures. Prison authorities use a system where inmates known as "black coats" whip other misbehaving prisoners with canes.

Training

Training of prison officers is done at the Prisons Service Training School. The school was established as the Warders' Training Depot in September, 1947. The purpose of the school is to train the Ghanaians to meet the administrative and operational needs of the Ghana Prisons Service. There are courses for recruits, officer cadet and special courses. The school admitted its first cadet officers 1974.

Statistics

As of 2015, Patrick Darko Missah the then Deputy Controller in charge of Finance and Administration of the Ghana Prisons Service revealed that there were 14, 585 inmates with 11,581 convicts and 3004 on remand. The inmate numbers were more than what the prisons in the country could handle. This was due to the fact that apart from

Nsawam Nsawam is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of the Nsawam-Adoagyire Municipal District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana. The main ethnic group is Akan, followed by Ga and then Ewe.Ankaful Ankaful is a town in the Central Region of Ghana. It is under the jurisdiction of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly is one of the twenty-two districts in Central Region, Ghana. Originally created as an muni ...

, and the

Kete Krachi Kete Krachi is the capital of the Krachi West District, in the western part of the Oti Region of Ghana, adjacent to Lake Volta. Kete Krachi is connected by a ferry to the town of Kwadjokrom, and by road to Bimbila and Dambai. Kete Krachi is the ...

Prisons which were purpose built, all other prisons were makeshifts from warehouses, stores, and silos among others, meant to house goods. United Nations support The

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) is supporting the reorganisation of the Ghana Prisons Service under a four-year project, focusing on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

development. As part of the restructuring, the Borstal Institute for Juveniles is now called the Senior Correctional Centre.

References

{{authority control Law enforcement in Ghana Ministries and Agencies of State of Ghana