The Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) has issued an urgent call for infrastructure reform, revealing that the nation’s correctional system is struggling to house a modern inmate population within facilities largely inherited from the colonial era.
Superintendent Samuel Kofi Opoku, Public Relations Officer for the GPS, disclosed that the surge in crime has pushed prison populations to dangerous levels. In an exclusive interview with ATV’s Akosua Sika Gold, Supt. Opoku highlighted a staggering disparity in current housing conditions, noting that cells originally designed to hold 300 inmates are now being forced to accommodate upwards of 500 people.
The Superintendent lamented the current state of overcrowding, describing it as a primary challenge for the service. He noted that because most of these structures were built by colonial masters for a different era and a significantly smaller population, they are no longer fit for the purpose of modern incarceration or rehabilitation.
This congestion has raised concerns regarding the health and human rights of the incarcerated. The GPS indicated that the continuous increase in criminal activity across the country is outpacing the capacity of the existing physical blocks, which have seen little expansion since the country gained independence.
The revelation comes amid ongoing national debates regarding the need for the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill, which advocates argue would help decongest these colonial-era facilities by providing alternative punishments for minor offenses.
