The Ghana Prisons Service has designated November as the Prisons/Corrections Month to serve as a critical period for reflection and strategic planning for the country's criminal justice system.
The observance forms part of the service’s broader “Think Prisons 360 Degrees” initiative, which seeks to rebrand the institution and improve the welfare of both officers and inmates.
Key priorities under the initiative include expanding accommodation facilities, mechanising prison agriculture, and establishing an industrial hub for the production of large-scale furniture, pavement blocks, and paper-based products.
The management of the Prisons Service has launched the 2025 event on the theme: “Promoting Public Safety through Modern Correctional Practices and Strategic Partnerships”.
By instituting Prisons Month, the service aims to reshape public perceptions, reduce stigma, and affirm that prisons can be spaces where transformation and renewal take place.
International practice
Speaking at the launch, the Director-General (D-G) of Prisons, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, highlighted that similar correctional observances occurred in several African countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, each adopting its own model to advance reforms.
She noted that starting next year, Corrections Month will be fully rolled out across all regions and prison facilities, reinforcing the service’s goal of transforming into a “modern, humane, and development-oriented institution.”
She appealed for support from schools, churches, institutions and individuals, explaining that effective reforms require broad collaboration.
Through open engagement, such as facility visits and storytelling, the Prisons Service D-G said the service hoped to educate the public, encourage responsible choices, reduce crime, and create pathways for individuals to contribute positively to society.
"The observance will not only highlight correctional facilities, but it will stay as a powerful tool that will encourage Ghanaians to consider personal, social and economic consequences of crime, reinforcing the importance of making responsible choices that keep individuals, especially the youth, on a positive path,” she added.
Mrs Baffoe-Bonnie emphasised the critical role of community support in helping reformed individuals reintegrate into society with dignity.
She noted that the initiative did not only seek to address the root cause of crime but also to provide constructive alternatives, particularly for the youth.
Second chance
The Council Chairman of the Prisons Service, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, called for a shift from a narrow, punishment-focused approach to a more holistic model of correctional management.
He advocated a "360 degrees" perspective that viewed prisons not just as places of confinement, but as centres of rehabilitation, renewal, and second chances for individuals who have violated the law.
This approach, he said, included professional development for prison officers, who were expected to serve as mentors and counsellors, as well as comprehensive rehabilitation programmes, such as vocational skills training, formal and informal education, psychological support, and spiritual care.
He described it as "the building blocks for a new society, a new life that we want to give our inmates”.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi stressed the importance of post-incarceration reintegration, warning that without structured support, the cycle of crime would persist.
He urged employers and the public to give reformed individuals opportunities, noting that “an ex-offender with a skill and a job is an asset, not a threat.”
He described the new initiative as a "covenant with the people of Ghana to pursue justice and compassion, to ensure the law with humanity and to protect the public by transforming lives."
