UK Government spearheads Ghana's Prison Reforms
UK Government sponsors key officials of the Ghana Prisons Service on a study tour of the UK's prison system.

Ghana Prisons delegation with UK Officials
皇冠体育app UK Government has sponsored four key officials of the Ghana Prisons Service and the Prisons Desk Officer at the Ministry of Interior on a study tour of the UK鈥檚 Prison System. 皇冠体育app Ghanaian delegation, led by the Controller General of Prisons, Ms. Matilda Baffour 鈥揂wuah included Mr. Stephen Cofie, Deputy Controller of Prisons in-charge of Welfare and Chairman of the Prisons Transformational Task Force, Rev. James Teye Tetteh and Mr. Nathaniel Agyemang Onyinah, both Chief Superintendents of Prisons and members of the PTTF. 皇冠体育app delegation was accompanied by Mr. Charanpreet Walia, Head of Migration Policy for West Africa and Ms. Eunice Buaben, Regional Migration Support Officer from the British High Commission.
皇冠体育app aim of the study visit was to provide insight into the UK鈥檚 prison system; gain an overview of UK correctional facilities and share best practices with UK counterparts. Ghana鈥檚 prisons have regularly come under scrutiny by many international bodies such as the UN, Amnesty International as well as local and international media for overcrowding and lack of basic amenities such as quality healthcare and suitable means of transporting prisoners from prisons to courts. In November 2013, at the request of the Government of Ghana, the UN and UK commissioned experts respectively to assess the state of Ghana鈥檚 prisons.
皇冠体育app Ghanaian Minister for the Interior, Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi who has overall responsibility for Ghana鈥檚 Prisons, requested that the Transformational Taskforce and Controller General visit the UK to gain better understanding of the UK prison system and share best practice in order to be better placed to influence positive change and bring about reforms within Ghana鈥檚 Prison Service.
皇冠体育app delegation, visited the HM Prison High Down at Sutton, Surrey to learn first-hand, the processes and procedures of operation in a UK prison system. 皇冠体育appy also had the opportunity to visit the Headquarters of the National Offender Management Service (NOMs) and met with key officials of the UK Ministry of Justice including the Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Rehabilitation, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Head of Prisons Research, Prison Reform Trust and the Director of Migration at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This study visit will enable Ghana to reforms its Prisons Service in order to achieve at least the minimum UN International Correctional Standards.
皇冠体育app Ghana Prisons Service is now developing an action plan to replicate some of the key lessons learned from the UK Prison tour.