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

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

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

Ministry of Interior (Ghana)

The Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the government of Ghana mandated to ensure internal security, as well as the maintenance of law and order in the country...

.

Functions

The GPS has a mandate to perform three main functions. These are:

1. Ensuring the welfare of prisoners through protection of their rights and providing them with good health care, clothing, bedding, feeding, recreation, and library facilities among others.
2. Ensuring the reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners by offering them opportunities to develop their skills through trade, training and moral education.
3. Ensuring safe custody of prisoners and execution of sentences in a humane manner.

Prisons

There are twelve major male prisons in the country. These are Akuse, Kumasi

Kumasi

Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...

, Sekondi, Tamale

Tamale, Ghana

Tamale with a population of 360,579 , is the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana and the Tamale Metropolitan District with which it is coterminous Area. The city is located 600 km north of Accra...

, Nsawam

Nsawam

Nsawam is a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana approximately 40 km northwest from the capital, Accra. It is controlled by the Akwapim Society....

, Ho

Ho, Ghana

Ho is a town in southeast Ghana and is the capital of the Volta Region. It lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui , and is home to a museum, a cathedral and a large prison...

, Sunyani

Sunyani

Sunyani is a city in the West African republic of Ghana, and is the capital of the both the Sunyani District and Brong-Ahafo Region.According to the 2005 population estimates 80,245 people reside in the city of Sunyani, with a growth rate, in the city, of 3.4% per annum.-History of...

, Narvrongo, Wa

Wa, Ghana

Wa is the capital of the Upper West Region of Ghana and is the main city of the Wala people. The majority of the inhabitants are Muslim. It is the seat of the Wa-Na, the Paramount Chief of the Wala traditional area. Features of the town include several mosques, the Wa-Na Palace, a museum and a...

, Tarkwa, and Winneba

Winneba

Winneba, traditionally known as Simpa, also known as the Land of the Gharteys because its royals and many of its inhabitants bear this name,...

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

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

, and Ankaful near Cape Coast, are open prisons. Ghana's prisons house between 11,000 and 12,000 inmates, with females forming approximately 2% of the prison population.

Staff

The Ghana Prisons Service has 7,000 officers and staff. Twenty percent of the staff are women.

Change in name

In 2007, it was announced that the Prison Service would change its name to the Ghana Correctional Service, or Correctional Service of Ghana. This was announced by the then-Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS), Mr. William K. Asiedu. The name change had, at the time of the announcement, been accepted by the Prisons Council, is and now awaiting an Act of Parliament to give it the force of law. The name change is part of a restructuring process the service is undergoing to ensure that prisoner rehabilitation is improved and recidivism

Recidivism

Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...

 rates are reduced.

Challenges

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, lack of sanitation

Sanitation

Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...

, and poor prison infrastructure. Some of the GPS' prisons are extremely outdated; for example, the James Fort Prison in Accra is almost 400 years old, and was originally built for 200 slaves, but currently houses over 740 male and female prisoners.

Supporting agencies

The United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...

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

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

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