Decongestion Exercise Ongoing In Ghana�s Prisons

The Ghana Prisons Service has started a nationwide decongestion exercise in the Prisons beginning from the Central region. According to the Public Relations Officer of the Service, DSP Vitalis Aryeh, the Ankaful Main Camp Prison which was a category B prison containing over 700 inmates now has close to 270. Ghana�s prisons are largely known for congestion which poses a great threat to the health of the prisoners. The Prisons Service has, on several occasions, appealed for support from government and other stakeholders to help ease the congestions and improve existing infrastructure. Speaking to Citi News, DSP Aryeh stated that about 400 prisoners serving longer terms have been moved from the Ankaful Annex Prison to the Ankaful Maximum Prison to enable the Annex facility serve its original purpose of catering for prisoners on remand and those serving shorter sentences. The PRO also disclosed that after successfully walling the Ankaful Main Camp Prison, more prisoners will then be transferred from the Western Region to the Central region to ensure the Prisons in Western region are decongested as well. He explained that the transfer to the Camp Prison has not taken place because of security reasons saying �that camp is not walled yet, when we wall it, it won�t become an open camp prison again, and it will be more secure to have longer serving prisoners and those on remand in there as well.� He again assured that if the 2,000 capacity prison is completed, it will ease a lot of congestion within the Central and Western regions.