Neglect and joblessness drive ex-convicts back to jail - Prisons Chief

The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, has warned that widespread social exclusion, rejection by relatives and a severe lack of employment are frustrating rehabilitation efforts and forcing ex-convicts back into crime.

Addressing the Public Accounts Committee, Baffoe-Bonnie explained that vocational skills taught behind bars are proving insufficient to stop reoffending when released prisoners return to society without income or family support.

Her observations follow a recent Auditor-General report revealing that former inmates from 15 of the nation’s 45 prisons were re-incarcerated between 2020 and 2025, despite the presence of rehabilitation initiatives.

The Prisons Chief highlighted the severe shock ex-inmates experience upon release, particularly those who spent years relying on correctional facilities for basic shelter, meals and water. Once outside, these individuals face immediate financial pressures to survive, pay bills and secure accommodation entirely on their own.

Reintegration becomes far harder when families refuse to receive former convicts or offer financial help during their transition. The initial three months post-release are especially dangerous, as hunger and homelessness often push desperate individuals back toward criminal gangs for quick money.

While the service continues to offer training in tailoring, carpentry and other trades, Baffoe-Bonnie stressed that a persistent gap remains between acquiring skills and turning them into sustainable livelihoods. To bridge this divide, the service is pushing for direct partnerships with private companies and industrial firms to guarantee employment pathways for trained ex-inmates.

Although the Ministry has helped secure 30 per cent of Ghana Education Service supply contracts for prison-made furniture and garments, severe equipment and factory infrastructure deficits continue to hamper production and limit the impact of these initiatives.