<<Print>>

There is clearly a value in converting former prisoners into successful taxpayers, and equipping them with employable skills through effective trade training programmes is crucial in ensuring public safety. Training to ensure that ex-convicts are economically independent with decent living standards and capable of contributing their quota to national development is critical in lessening the tendency of re-offending to go back to prison. Prisoners are equally endowed with enormous talents, however, these energies and creativity can only find purpose that benefits the society when their hidden talents are uncovered, polished and engaged productively for national development. Although Ghana Prisons Service has enjoyed public respect for ensuring the safe custody of prisoners, little strides have been in training the inmates. However as a security agency, it has a dual role of performing security and social functions. Its operational scope is explicit in the NRCD 46, 1972, which includes ensuring the safe custody of prisoners and their welfare needs as well as undertaking their reformation and rehabilitation requirements. Training workshops which were established years ago to give inmates skills training such as carpentry, masonry, tailoring, are now dormant. This suggests that the reformation function of the Service is adversely affected. One can therefore conclude with a degree of certainty that very soon offenders who will be released back into the society will not receive any skills training. They will probably return into our communities as they went into prison. It was estimated that about 6,219 prisoners, with a monthly average of 267, were released in 2011. Out of the 14,128 prisoners for the year, 3,580 were within the age group of 18-25, which constituted 50.1 per cent of the total prisoner population for the period. This category of prisoners, some of whom had their education truncated as a result of incarceration should have the opportunity of either continuing their education or taking to trade training in the prisons. It is heart-warming to state that these options are available in the country�s prisons but are unable to make the expected impact because of numerous challenges. The training equipment which were procured for the prison workshops decades ago are now out-dated with some in irreparable shape. The need for government, corporate entities public-spirited individuals and organisations to support in revamping these workshops is non-negotiable. It is the only way by which value can be added to the lives of inmates for their complete reformation. This, undoubtedly, will make them better and safe to live with in our communities. Much can be learnt from other jurisdictions where public involvement in the training of prisoners has brought hope to inmates. An example of such public interventions is the founding of the St Giles Trust, a charity organisation, in the United Kingdom, which trains ex-offenders and tasks them to use their skills and first-hand experience to assist others through peer-led support. The impact of the Trust has won it corporate sponsorship from numerous financial institutions such as Barclays, Global bank Nomura, HSBC, etc to enable it continue to run its training programmes for offenders. This can be emulated in Ghana to support prisoners to change their lives. The Prison Ministry of Ghana which is made up of churches including the Presbyterian Church, International Central Gospel Church, Perez Chapel international, Vine Church, Assemblies of God, Pentecost church, Light House, Royal House Chapel, among others with their Muslim counterparts have been complementing the efforts of the Prison Administration by assisting in various ways. However, training for their effective resettlement into the society is equally needed and deserves attention. Without this, the devil will find work for the idle hands. Records from the Prisons Service reveal that the functional days of prison workshops produced some success stories. The masonry unit has to its credit the construction of the multipurpose sport courts including the volley, basketball and handball courts of the St Thomas Acquinas Senior High School and a two-storey dormitory block for the Odorgonnor Senior High School in Accra. The tailoring shop which also relies largely on trained prisoners currently has sewing contracts with reputable institutions with the Security Units of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Judicial Service and the Reibee securities as the latest contractual beneficiaries. These trade training workshops which are mainly meant to equip inmates with employable skills can do better with the support of the public and corporate bodies. Some of the workshops could even be adopted by reputed companies such as MANTRAC Ghana Limited, Melcom Ghana Limited to say the least about the numerous possibilities. Ghana is held as a beacon of hope for Africa, with enviable democratic credentials and upholding these commendable strides in the areas of good governance and respect for human rights, requires a reflection of the already achieved dividends in the country�s prison system too. That is, offering prison inmates a better option that promises bright prospects which will discourage them from going back into crime. There must be clear-cut focus and attention on equipping the Prisons Service with the necessary training equipment and logistics. George W. Bush, former President of the United States, in signing the Second Chance Act of 2008 for a complete take off of the re-entry programmes for inmates of Alaska Prison admitted that the was the need for the American society to help offenders reintegrate properly into the society. He acknowledged the limitless potential that inmates are endowed with, which could be tapped for the betterment of the American society.