Stakeholders call for more regional correctional centres

Stakeholders at a round table discussion have called on government to build more senior correctional centres in the various regions to help reduce the pressure on the only one located in Accra.

They said government should also consider establishing especially females centre so that adults are separated from juveniles.

The Centre, mandated to admit inmates from 12 to 21 years who had had a brush with the law, for safe keeping, reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration has 254 inmates.

The appeal was made at a roundtable discussion organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) to highlight the need to improve the Juvenile Justice System.

The stakeholders were reacting to a presentation done by Chief Superintendent of Prisons, Mrs Victoria Adzewoda, Head of Education and Counselling at the Senior Correctional Centre (SCC) on state of the institution.

Presenting a paper on the theme; Juvenile Justice System in Ghana: A case of the SCC, she said the Centre which was built on May 17, 1947 and inherited from the West African Frontiers after the Second World War was trying hard to meet the standards.

It was first called the Ghana Borstal Institute until 2003 when it was renamed the SCC to be in line with the international standards, she stated. She said the purpose was to separate adults from juveniles who had committed crimes such as murder, rape defilement, robbery, drug offences, and offences related to fire arms, among others.

The Chief Superintendent of Prisons said some of the offences that brought inmates there was poverty, hunger and sex related offences, adding that stealing, robbery, unlawful entry, defilement, assault, escape from lawful custody, dishonestly receiving and carnal knowledge of imbecile were some of the common offences committed by inmates.

She said the staff used interventions such as counselling, sentence planning, religious and moral correction, drama therapy, mentoring and family reunion to achieve their target.

Mr Leopold Kwame Amoah Ansah, Director of Prisons, Welfare said before more centres are built, the dilapidated ones should be renovated. Dr Frank Oduro, the Deputy Executive Director of CDD-Ghana said CDD was very much concerned that SCC had been neglected and that the Ghana Prisons Service and the Department of Social Welfare struggled to manage the juveniles amidst the highlighted challenges.

He said in line with the UN Convention of the Child, Article 3 (1) of the convention indicates that “in all action concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration,” he quoted.

He said the CDD was therefore reminding government and major stakeholders of their obligations to respect and uphold the fundamental human rights of all citizens, including juveniles who may be in conflict with the law.

“CDD-Ghana calls on the government to pay serious attention to the correctional centres that play a key role in the reformation of these young offenders,” he stated.