The Ghana Prisons Service has designated November as Prisons/Corrections Month under the broader “Think Prisons 360 Degrees” initiative.
The plan marks a welcome and overdue national reflection on what correctional justice should look like in a modern society (See Daily Graphic, Friday, November 28, 2025, page 27)
With the 2025 theme, “Promoting public safety through modern correctional practices and strategic partnerships,” the service signals its intent to transform public perceptions and strengthen a system that protects society not only through confinement, but through rehabilitation, renewal and reintegration.
But for this observance to become meaningful, the Daily Graphic is of the view that the reforms must be bold, practical and anchored in humanity.
One critical area demanding immediate attention is the expansion of accommodation facilities.
This is not, and must never be interpreted as, a desire to see more Ghanaians behind bars.
Rather, it is an acknowledgement of the current congestion crisis, one that undermines the dignity of inmates and compromises the work of correctional officers.
When cell blocks built for 50 people hold more than double that number, rehabilitation becomes nearly impossible.
If Ghana truly seeks a correctional system that transforms lives, then a modernised infrastructure that is spacious, ventilated, safe and conducive to rehabilitation must be non-negotiable.
Closely tied to humane treatment is the quality of food served to inmates.
Although the feeding fee per prisoner was recently increased from GH¢1.80 to GH¢5, it remains far from adequate to provide three nutritious meals a day.
Malnutrition weakens the physical and mental health of inmates, making reintegration even more difficult.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a UN agency, frames adequate food not just as a matter of survival but as basic human right essential for dignity and well-being.
This is where prison agriculture becomes not only beneficial but visionary.
The Awutu Camp Prison is living proof that with proper investment, prison agriculture can thrive. Inmates cultivate food crops that feed themselves and generate surplus for sale to the public. This model deserves replication across all suitable facilities.
The potential is enormous as there will be strengthened food security, reduced feeding costs, productive engagement for inmates, and a pathway for agricultural training that aids reintegration.
A strategic partnership with the Ghana Buffer Stock Company could transform this potential into national value as it could purchase farm produce from the Prisons Service for both public consumption and the School Feeding Programme.
But reforms cannot end at the prison gate.
Reintegration is the true measure of a humane correctional system, and here Ghana must confront a long-standing challenge, namely employment discrimination against ex-convicts.
Outright bans raise serious concerns of fairness and discrimination.
They also undermine public safety.
When ex-offenders are denied legitimate opportunities, the cycle of poverty and reoffending becomes almost inevitable.
An ex-offender with a skill and a job, as Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi rightly noted, is indeed an asset and not a threat.
To address employers’ concerns while promoting fairness, the country must develop clearer, more consistent national guidelines on employing reformed individuals.
Risk-sensitive industries can maintain justified restrictions, but blanket bans must be reviewed.
More importantly, the public must be consistently and comprehensively educated to accept ex-convicts as full citizens once they have served their terms.
Without community acceptance, even the most determined individuals cannot rebuild their life.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, sees Prisons Month as a call to conscience.
It challenges the public to rethink prisons not as warehouses of society’s failures but as centres of transformation.
It invites us all to help create a justice system grounded in humanity, safety and second chances.
