Vice President urges prison officers to respect inmate dignity and support rehabilitation

Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has urged Ghana Prisons Service officers to uphold inmates' dignity and provide them with opportunities for rehabilitation and successful reintegration into society.

She said humane treatment of inmates is a fundamental responsibility of the Service, stressing the need for prison officers to discharge their duties with professionalism, discipline, and respect for human rights.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang assured that the government remained committed to working with the Service to improve staff welfare, strengthen institutional capacity, provide essential equipment, and promote professional development.

She was speaking at the graduation parade of 609 officer cadets from Intakes 33, 34 and 35 at the Premier Centre for Prisons and Correctional Innovations at Fumso in the Adansi Asokwa District of the Ashanti Region.

The graduating cohort comprised 392 males and 217 females, who were commissioned as Assistant Superintendents of Prisons.

The Vice President said the government recognised the importance of improving conditions in the country’s prisons to support effective rehabilitation and ensure that inmates had the opportunity to become productive members of society.

She announced the commissioning of the Damongo Camp Prison and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to completing the remand facility at Nsawam.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang called for sustained efforts to improve case management, address overcrowding and develop viable alternatives to custodial sentencing.

She appealed to the public to desist from stigmatising former inmates and instead support their reintegration into society after serving their sentences.

The Vice President said the government had also provided tractors, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs to support farming activities in the prisons.

She explained that the initiative was intended to increase food production within the facilities while equipping inmates with practical agricultural and vocational skills to improve their livelihoods after release.

She stressed that accountability and public safety must remain central to prison administration, urging the Service leadership to ensure rehabilitation initiatives are supported by comprehensive staff training.

“Promotion is not merely a reward for past achievements, but a solemn commitment to upholding even higher standards of duty,” she said.

The Vice President was accompanied by the Minister for the Interior, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, and other senior officials of the Service.