KUMASI CENTRAL
The developments of Prisons in the country started in the early 1800,s when the promulgated with emphasis on punishments rather than safe custody. The Kumasi Central Prison was established in 1901, soon after the British Government gained grounds to rule in the Ashanti Region. The Prison was established to confine law-breakers to facilitate the smooth running of the British administration. In 1925, Kumasi Prison was reconstructed to increase the number of cells following the large number of inmates within the province. The site covers an area of 44,424 sq. ft. allowing 500 cubic feet for each prisoner. The station has a number of workshops where inmates are trained in various trade/vocation and an infirmary manned by medical personnel who oversee the needs of inmates as well as officers in case of minor ailments.
KUMASI FEMALE PRISON
The Kumasi Female Prison was administered as part of the Central Prison during its inception. Admissions and discharges of inmates were done at the central prison. The officers working at the female section also reported directly to the central prison as well as all the technical assistance the section needed. In 1991, the Kumasi female prison was granted full autonomous status which gave it the authority to take charge of its own affairs. The female prison is located at the center of Adum in Kumasi and is structurally attached to the central prison. It has a total land size of 0.07 acres, which houses four (4) cells measuring 1200 ct7 each, The Prison takes both convicts and remand prisoners.
MANHYIA LOCAL PRISON
The Manhyia Local Prison was originally a sublet of the Asantehene’s palace. Its original function was to accommodate people who committed crimes and were found guilty by the Asantehene’s court. In 1954, the government took over the management of the facility and gazettes it as one of the prison establishments in the country. The Prison is located in Kumasi, at the Manhyia palace where the Asantehene’s resides. The Prison has a total surface area of 0.001221 km. The inmates’ population is made up of convicts and debtors. The building contains six cells and seven offices.
OBUASI LOCAL PRISON
The Obuasi Prison was built in 1909 by the colonial Government to deter would be criminals from pilfering minerals and other properties of Anglo Gold Ashanti because of that the prison was strategically built at the entrance of the company. The prison has a land size of 0.54 acre or 0.23 hector. The barracks which accommodate has a land size of 1.93 acres. The prison farm land is about 5160.958 or 8.604 sq. miles. The land was handed over to the prison administration in 1968 by the District Administration before then it was meant for the workers Brigade. There are both convicts and remand prisoner making up the population of the prison. The station is actually an agriculture station that engages in cereal production, forestry and oil palm production, Agro forestry and oil palm production. Currently the station maintains and harvest about 18.3 acres of oil palm, 15 acres of maize farm and 7 acres of Teak. The station also give some basic skills to inmates to go into rabbitary and lest practices in crop production.
AHINSAN CAMP PRISON
The Ahinsan Camp Prison was established in the year 1993 as a settlement camp, to engage in farming activities. The Government of Ghana had given directive for the Ghana Prison Service to take over the palm plantation from the Ghana Food Production Corporation in 1992. The camp is located at Adansi Ahinsan as its permanent site and New Ayaase as its temporal site. The Camp Prison as temporal measure fell on the Ghana Education Service building which was a Domestic Science Center at New Ayaase, as its temporal site. The Camp Prison as temporal measure fell on the Ghana Education Service building which was, a Domestic Science Center at New Ayaase, while the permanent structures are completed at Adansi, Ahinsan. This is the reason why the Ahinsan Camp Prison is located far away from the planned location (Adansi, Ahinsan). The new site and prison barracks is on a land size of 21.88 acres and the farm land size is 234.2 acres.
AMANFROM CAMP PRISON
The Amanfrom Camp Prison was established in 1991. The land was acquired from one Mr. Kwadwo Nsarfoa Opoku (Pola) a son of the former owner of Poku transport on lease hold. The Prison is located at Amanfrom near Kumasi a distance of about eight (8) kilometers off the Kumasi Barekese road. The camp has a total of (45) forty-five acres of land of which forty acres is occupied by palm plantation and five (5) acres for residential area. The inmates at this station are transferred from Kumasi and Sunyani Central Prisons and are usually first and second offenders with minor offences and sentences not exceeding (5) five years.
AHINSAN CAMP PRISON
BRIEF HISTORY
Documented history of Ekuasi Camp Prison is very scanty. It is believed that what is now Ekuasi Camp Prison changed hands from being an observational post for the early merchants to a leprosarium serving the inhabitants of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan before being taken over as a remand home for female offenders until the establishment of the Sekondi Female Prison.
Deputy Superintendent of Prisons, A.K. Kusugbor is on record to have been the first officer-in-charge of the prison in 18th October, 1976, but the actual date of the establishment of the Prison is unknown.
After more than four decades of its existence, in spite of the numerous challenges that has confronted the station, it has not renege in its mandate of providing safe custody and welfare to prisoners. Additionally, it has provided rehabilitation and reformed thousands of short sentenced prisoners over the years.
LOCATION AND APPROXIMATE LAND SIZE:
Nestled on a hill, Ekuasi Camp Prison is boarded to the west by St. John’s School, the South by the Sekondi -Takoradi Coastal road and to the East by Aggrey Memorial School. The camp prison occupies a total land size of 13.08 acres, much of which is rocky and unsuitable for any agricultural activities.
INMATES POPULATION AND CATEGORIES:
The Prison holds basically short sentenced prisoners; it does not receive convicts directly from the courts. Inmates transferred to the prison must serve at least a fifth of their sentence elsewhere particularly Sekondi Central Prison and Tarkwa Local Prison leaving a residual of their sentences to be served at Ekuasi Camp Prison. As an open Camp, the atmosphere is a bit relaxed as compared to a walled prison and this is suitable for their reintegration into wider society upon discharge.
The total inmate population as at 1st April, 2015 stood at 151 inmates.
NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
Following negotiations with the Metropolitan Coordinator, the Non -Formal Education Program (NFEP) was re-introduced after a break from 2011, at the moment there are fifteen inmates being taken through basic literacy and numeracy.
RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
Administration continues to give credence to religious activities at the station. Administration also solicits assistance from benevolent religious organization, groups and individuals aside those officially granted permit to undertake bible studies as well as worship with the officers and inmates.
HEALTH CARE
cases of ailments are usually reported to the Infirmary with complicated ones being referred to government health institutions within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. Usual complaints include Malaria, Chicken pox, diarrhea, severe headaches, boils, asthma, cough, scabies, anemia etc. Just recently, the Regional Commander DDP Josephine Fredua Agyemang through her initiative got the National Health Insurance Scheme to register all inmates of this outfit for free. This initiative will potentially reduce inmate health bill on the Administration.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- The most remarkable achievement in recent times is the registration of inmates of this outfit under the National Health Insurance Scheme, which was an initiative of the Western Regional Commander, DDP Josephine Fredua Agyemang. This will effectively reduce the health bill on the service and the nation.
- The Administration secured the installation of a mechanized bole-hole facility from a philanthropist. This single project brought to an end the perennial water shortages of the station.
- Administration completed an exercise to capture the data of all inmates, thereby creating a computerized data base of all inmates in custody.
- The Non- Formal Education Program which stalled sometime back, but was being revived with a piloted program in 2013 became fully operational in 2014. The program has given training to thirty-three inmates in soap making with other training modules in the offing
CHALLENGES FACING THE STATION
- Lack of funds to run administration as releases from Central Government is not forth coming
- The station is in dire need of service vehicles.
- The station’s main office needs urgent renovation and office equipment to enhance effective Administrative work.
- The station’s Kitchen needs a complete renovation.
- Inadequate accommodation for officers at the station.