US Government Affirms Commitment To Supporting Prisons Reformation

Mr Robert Jackson, the US Ambassador to Ghana, has affirmed the commitment of the US Government to supporting the reformation and rehabilitation agenda of the Ghana Prisons Service.

Mr Jackson said such a course, remains one of the surest ways of preventing crime in Ghana.

Speaking during a courtesy call on him by Ambassador Extraordinaire of Prisons, Mr Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, Mr Jackson said the Embassy has supported the Prisons Service in building the capacity of its officers, provided skills training for some inmates in the country's Prisons and would continue to support it in areas that would promote its ideals.

He said though no Prison system was perfect, the US Government believes the human rights of prisoners remained a central component of the rule of law that must be respected at all times.

He commended Mr Kwarteng, who is also the Executive Director of Crime Check Foundation (CCF), for championing the human rights of prisoners through his Foundation.

He also lauded the advocacy campaign being championed to sensitize the public to the dangers of crime through the screening of Life in Prison documentaries in Senior High Schools (SHS) to deter crime among students.

Mr Kwarteng, on his part, commended the US Ambassador to Ghana for initiating interventions aimed at complementing efforts by the Prisons Service to make the Prisons purely correctional institutions.

He called for more support for the Service and urged the Embassy to support the crime advocacy campaign which his organization, was rolling out in SHS across the country.