DDP Edward Ashun is the Central Regional Commander.
The commander doubles as the Officer-in-Charge of the Ankaful Maximum Security Prison.
The Central Regional Command is made up of seven(7) stations, namely;
Ankaful Maximum Prison, Ankaful Annex, Ankaful Main, Ankaful CDP, Winneba Local, Osamkrom Camp Prison and Awutu Camp Prison
MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON ANKAFUL
Ankaful Maximum Security Prisons is the latest Prison established in Ghana. It is located at Ankaful Prisons Complex, Cape-Coast in the Central Region. It is the Prison with the most security facilities as per the title Maximum Security Prison. Maximum Security has been established with such security facility to keep high sentence and High profile Prisoners, also to aid in decongesting the Prisons.
The Prison was commissioned by the late President Evans Atta Mills on 8th November, 2011 after the first phase of the Project was completed. The first phase generally is composed of Administration, Cells, Cooking Apartment and part of the Residential Accommodation for officers, etc. The Prison was established to confine law-breakers to facilitate the smooth running of the British administration.
However work on the second phase is vigorously ongoing on Education Blocks involving Workshops and learning apartments, Blocks for Religious activities and residential accommodation for officers.
The Maximum Security Prisons is located at Ankaful Prisons Complex, Cape-Coast in Central Region of Ghana. The Prison Complex comprises three other Prisons namely, Contagious Disease Prison, Main Camp Prison and Ankaful Annex Prison and they are located on the main Ankaful – Elmina Road. The Maximum Security Prison is the Regional Headquarters
Land Size
The land Size occupied by the Maximum Security Prison is 1,800 feet by 1,800 feet whiles the size of land for the residential Facility/Barracks is as follows:
- 15 Blocks of Two Bed Room Flats under-construction is on 1,000 feet by 600 feet parcel of land.
- 12 Blocks of 3 Bed Room Flats also under-construction is on 800 feet by 800 feet.
- 4 Bungalows Blocks also under-construction is on 250 feet by 180 feet.
- iv. 11 Number 2 Bed Room Flats construction yet to commence is also to occupy 1,000 feet by 600 feet parcel of land.
Categories of Prison
The categories of Prisoners being kept at the Prison includes:
- High sentence Prisoners.
- High profile Prisoners.
ANKAFUL MAIN CAMP PRISON
The developments of Prisons in the country started in the early 1800,s when the promulgated with emphasis on punishments rather than safe custody.
During the early 19th century, the British government adopted the indirect rule system of government and as a result District Commissioners were appointed to see to the day-to day administration of the government.
The Kumasi Central Prison was established in 1901, soon after the British Government gained grounds to rule in the Ashanti Region. To enable them work effectively and to put fear in the indigenous people who posed as threat to their administration, several local and District Courts were created by the Colonial Masters.
he Prison was established to confine law-breakers in the facilitate the smooth running of the British administration. In 1925, Kumasi Prison was reconstructed 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 unit performs the following roles among others:
- Keeping daily ,weekly, monthly and yearly records on prisoners
- Collect and collate data on every aspect of the inmates.
- Classify, present and analyse the data collected for easy use by the Service and other interested stake holders.
- Co-ordinate the transfer of prisoners from one prison to the other to ensure even distribution of inmates to minimize overcrowding.
- Monitor the numbers of Remand prisoners and keep track of prisoners with expired warrant.
- Monitor the activities of all reception and criminal records officers.
- Co-ordinate the visit of foreigners to our prisons.
Categories of Prisoners
The station does not receive direct admissions from court but rather prisoners transferred in from other prison establishments with the approval from the Cont.-Gen. of Prisoners and are convict prisoners made up of 1st and 2nd offenders.
ANKAFUL PRISON ANNEX
Following the ceding of all Forts and Castles to the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board, it became necessary to re-locate the Anomabo Local Prison which was being housed by the Anomabo Castle.
TThe Prison Administration decided to carve a new prison out of the Ankaful Main Camp Prison. A Portion of the Camp Prison was subsequently walled and refurbished and this gave birth to ANKAFUL PRISON ANNEX. It has a perimeter wall dimension of 174ft by 300ft.
The Ankaful Prison Annex became operational on 15th February, 2000 when the first batch of officers comprising nineteen/19 subordinates and two/2 Superiors were conveyed from Anomabo to Ankaful to acclimatize themselves before the movement of inmates. Two weeks later, the movement of inmates begun and by 15th April, 2000 the last batch of inmates we evacuated to Ankaful Prison Annex.
Categories of Prisoners
- Convicts
- Remands
- Trials
- Lifers
CONTAGEOUS DISEASE PRISON (CDP)
The communicable disease prison was established as a subsidiary Prison alongside the Main Camp Prison, Ankaful in 1948 to take care of Prisoners suffering from TB and Leprosy illness. In 1983, Communicable Disease Prison was made autonomous from Main Camp Prison Ankaful. The maximum inbuilt capacity is currently 84 to take care of all inmates sick of TB and Leprosy from all the prisons in Ghana.
The prison is located at Ankaful a suburb of Cape Coast. The prison has a land size of 96×84 meters. Communicable Disease Prison has no farm land but a parcel of land for garden to grow vegetables to supplement inmates’ diet.
Categories of Prisoners
All categories of prisoners are admitted into the prison for the treatment of communicable diseases.
AWUTU CAMP PRISON:
Awutu Camp Prison was established in 1982 as one of the camp prisons to decongest the Central prisons and engage in Agricultural production to supplement inmates’ diet and generate funds for the prison service. In 1995 through the divestiture implementation programme by PNDC, 200 acres of land was released to Prisons through a legislative instrument. The station has been involved in the production of grains, vegetables, small ruminants and grass-cutters.
Interested inmates are also given on -the -job training at the various units of Agriculture as part of prisoners’ rehabilitation programme at the station.
The prison is situated at Krispol City off the Kasoa Winneba Road. with a total landsize of 200 Acres
OSAMKROM CAMP PRISON
The Osamkrom Camp Prison land was confiscated from a former Inspector– General of the Police Mr. B.S.K Kwakye in 1979 and handed over to the Ghana Prisons Service on lease to be used as a settlement Camp Prison. It is an Agricultural Station, which engages in food crop production such as Maize, Oil Palm Plantation, Vegetables and Piggery Project.
Osamkrom Camp Prison is located in Central Region of Ghana, in a town called Osamkrom. It is situated on the main road off Agona-Swedru and Winneba Junction, about 10/ten kilometers drive from Winneba Junction on your left.
The Prisons occupies a total of 57.43 acres of land.
WINNEBA LOCAL PRISON
Winneba Local Prison is located at the South-Eastern Part of Winneba. It is among the first Prisons built in the Gold Coast Colony and it is located few meters away from the Gulf of Guinea.
Established since 12th December, 1881, Winneba Local Prison has a total land space of about 430 x 600 feet and until recently shared the same building with Winneba Magistrate Court. The Winneba Local Prison like many others in the country was not originally built as a prison. It has its history similar to the forts and castles in the Gold Coast Colony which were later converted to prison. Oral history has it that, Winneba Local Prison was originally a warehouse built by white merchants in the then Gold Coast. It was alleged that a misunderstanding arose between the white merchants and the Simpa town folks, based on a suspicion that a native of the town was kidnapped and kept in the warehouse. The irate youth and some elders of the town consequently invaded the premises, ransacked the building and set it ablaze. The building was abandoned for several years until it was later taken-over by the then Gold Coast Prisons authorities who later re-configured it and used it as a prison since.
Located at the South-Eastern part of the Winneba town, the prison houses both remand and convict prisoners on an approximately 430 x 600 square feet.
