HISTORY
The Western Regional Prisons Command located in Sekondi the capital city of the western region serves as the western regional headquarters of the Ghana Prisons Service.
As institutional structure of the Ghana Prisons Service, the Sekondi Central prison is designated as both operational facility and the regional command of the stations in the western region.
There are currently five stations under the western regional prisons command namely:
- Sekondi Central Prison
- Sekondi Female Prison
- Tarkwa Local Prison
- Ekuasi Camp Prison
- Hiawa Camp Prison
SEKONDI CENTRAL PRISON
Established in 1902, the Sekondi Central Prison traced its origin to the colonial era as a detention facility and later adopted in early 1950’s by the Ghana Prisons Service as a central prison for male adults prisoners and the Seat of the Western Regional Command.
Beyond the core mandate of keeping custody of detainee prisoners, the Sekondi Prison was strategically built as an industrial station to take advantage of the growing industrial and commercial activities of Sekondi-Takoradi and its environs. To that end, tailoring, carpentry, blacksmithing and doormat making workshops are established within the prison to serve the inmates population and the larger community outside the prison.
Sekondi Central Prison is marked by history of a functional mess established as a recreational facility providing all manner of persons with musical and comedy entertainment by the prisoners.
Authorized capacity
The authorized capacity of Sekondi Central Prison is 412.
Major Rehabilitation/Reformation Programmes
The station have a functional tailoring shop for inmates skills acquisition in garment making.
Areas of Collaboration
- Health: the command collaborates with Ghana Health Service, Metropolitan Health Directorate and other Health centers for provision of health-related support to inmates and officers.
- Faith Based Organizations: The station engages with religious bodies for faith based counseling and other support to the inmates.
SEKONDI FEMALE PRISON
The Sekondi Female Prison was established in 1912 which is the only Female Prison in the Western Region. It was initially situated at Ekuasi a Suburb of Sekondi where merchants of the Gold Coast used as a care-taker form of Prison for criminals caught at the Takoradi Port for their clandestine activities.
It was not until the early part of 1950’s that the Ghana Prisons Service, then known as Prisons Department took over the administration of the camp for Custody of prisoners.
Some years after their settlement, they encountered a lot of harassment from robbers and male criminals. A decision was therefore taken by then Director of Prisons, Mr. Isaac Wilberforce Abban of blessed memory and the Prison was brought down to Sekondi, its present site in 1963.
Authorized Capacity
The authorized capacity of the facility is 44 inmates
Major Rehabilitation/Rehabilitation Programmes
The Female Prison presently engages in the following major rehabilitation and reformation programmes;
- Doormat Weaving
- Beads making
- Bread/Pastries making
- Hair styling and Braiding
- Detergent making
- Sewing
Areas of Collaboration
The following are areas of collaboration by the station;
- Collaboration with Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry: participated in the just ended Chamber Bazaar, 2025 from 7th to 13th April, 2025 to showcase products produced by inmates for patronage.
- The station in collaboration with Sabquay Catering Services is training inmates in pastries making for an upcoming NVTI Examination.
- GHACEM LTD. Takoradi: Funding of construction works. Eg; donated cement to support fortification of the foundation of the perimeter wall and construction of drainage to prevent seepage of rain water through the perimeter walls as well as repaired septic tank problem of the prison.
EKUASI CAMP PRISON
Although documented records on the origins of Ekuasi Camp Prison are limited, oral traditions suggest that the site has undergone several transformations over time. Initially believed to have served as an observation post for early European merchants, the location later functioned as a leprosarium, where individuals afflicted with leprosy in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan area were quarantined. It was subsequently taken over by the then Prison Department for correctional purposes.
The site’s use as a prison date back to 1912, when the colonial administration repurposed the facility as a remand home for female offenders. However, due to repeated attacks by male criminals, the then Director of Prisons, Wilberforce Abban, relocated the female prison to its current site in 1963. Following this relocation, the facility was converted into a camp prison designed to accommodate inmates serving short-term sentences.
As is typical of camp prisons, Ekuasi Camp Prison was established to help decongest central and local prisons within the region. It also engages in agricultural activities aimed at both supplementing the prison’s food supply and equipping inmates with modern agricultural skills. In some cases, prisoners nearing the end of their sentences are transferred to the camp as part of their reintegration process. Notably, the facility does not admit convicts directly from the courts; rather, inmates must have served at least one-fifth of their sentence elsewhere before being transferred to Ekuasi Camp Prison.
Deputy Superintendent of Prisons A.K. Kusugbor is recorded as the first officer in charge, assuming duty on 18th October 1976.
Strategically nestled on a hill, the prison is bordered to the west by St. John’s School, to the south by the Ekuasi township leading to the Sekondi-Takoradi Coastal Road, and to the east by Aggrey Memorial School. The facility occupies approximately 13.05 acres of land, much of which is stony and rocky.
Despite the numerous challenges it has faced over the past five decades, Ekuasi Camp Prison has consistently fulfilled its mandate of ensuring the safe custody and welfare of inmates. Additionally, it has played a vital role in the rehabilitation and reintegration of thousands of short-sentenced prisoners.
Authorized Capacity
The station has an authorized capacity of 140 inmates.
Major Rehabilitation/Reformation Programmes
Ekuasi Camp Prison is actively engaged in a variety of rehabilitation programmes aimed at equipping inmates with practical vocational and educational skills to support their reintegration into society. These initiatives are aligned with the Ghana Prisons Service’s broader mandate to promote reformation and reduce recidivism;
- Aquaculture: This program provides inmates with practical skills in aquaculture, offering the inmates with potential livelihood opportunities upon release.
- Non-Formal Education: The prison offers non-formal education programmes focused on improving literacy and numeracy among inmates. These educational opportunities cater to the diverse learning needs within the inmate population and enhance their prospects for successful reintegration into society.
- Tailoring: Tailoring is one of the key vocational training programmes offered at Ekuasi Camp Prison. Through practical instruction, inmates acquire skills in garment construction and design, providing them with a marketable trade for post-incarceration employment.
- Kente Weaving: As part of our vocational initiatives, the prison offers training in Kente weaving, a traditional Ghanaian craft. This programme not only helps preserve cultural heritage but also equips inmates with a unique artisan skill that holds significant economic potential.
Areas of Collaboration
To ensure effective service delivery, Ekuasi Camp Prison has been collaborating with the following external organizations to enhance rehabilitation, security, and operational efficiency;
- Rehabilitation and Reintegration Programs: NGOs, and community organizations such as the September Borns, Wisemen Fellowship, Champions Outreach etc have partnered the prison in offering counseling, vocational training, and educational programs to help inmates reintegrate into society.
- Healthcare Services: The station has over the years partnered the Regional/District health Directorate and hospitals in the Sekondi- Takoradi Metropolis to provide medical, dental, and mental health care to inmates.
- Educational Support: There is collaboration between the station and the Non-Formal Unit of the Sekondi- Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly in providing teaching and learning to inmates in basic literacy and numeracy.
- Religious and Spiritual Services: Several faith-based organizations often visit the prison to offer spiritual counseling, religious services, and moral rehabilitation.
- Security and Intelligence Sharing: Cooperation with the police and other intelligence agencies to manage and ensure facility security.
- Vocational and Skills Training: Partnership with the Fisheries Commission, Ministry of Agriculture, skilled individuals and private companies within the metropolis in providing training in aquaculture, gardening, handicraft among others to inmates.
TARKWA LOCAL PRISON
Tarkwa Local Prison existed as far back as 1948. The year 1948 has been used as a base year because records have it that, that was when an officer was posted from the Prison Officers’ Training School (POTS) to this station. Records are unavailable as to the year its operation started. Oral history has it that, it was formerly a Cocoa depot until it was handed over to the then Prisons Authorities to take care of inmates stretching from the Twifo Praso at the upper tip of the Central Region through Axim to Sefwi Wiawso.
Records from the late 50’s and early 60’s indicate that short sentenced prisoners were housed in this facility.
The Tarkwa Local Prison is situated in the former Wassa West District, now Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal in the Western Region of Ghana. It is situated in the heart of Tarkwa and just directly behind the Regional Police Headquarters. By its location, it services about Thirteen/13 Courts within the Regional jurisdiction of the Police and Courts, which is about /or the largest in the country.
Currently, the facility only serves Five/5 courts due to the re-demarcation of the various administrative and Political jurisdictions of the Police Service and the Courts, namely Tarkwa, Prestea, Asankragua, Enchi and Wassa – Akropong.
Aside the safe custody of inmates, the Prison also engages in farming activities to supplement inmates ration. Currently, the prison is into palm plantation in collaboration with Benso Palm Plantation Company.
In addition to that, the Prison has established a functional canteen to serve officers recreational activities.
Authorized capacity: One Hundred and Fifty/150 Inmates.
Major Rehabilitation Programs
- Tailoring: The station has a tailoring shop where inmates desirous of learning garment making as a vocation are trained, with opportunity to sit for NVTI Certification by the T – VET Institute.
- Carpentry and Electrical Skills Acquisition Center: There is a fully furnished modern Carpentry and Electricals skill acquisition center for training of interested inmates.
- Training in Basic modern Agricultural practices: Inmates are also engaged in learning basic modern agricultural practices in crop husbandry.
Areas of Collaboration
- HealthCare Services: collaboration with Ghana Health Service (Apinto Government Hospital), Health Insurance Authority, Pharmaceutical Council of Ghana (Tarkwa Branch), Royal Eye Clinic for support towards inmates and officers health.
- Benso Palm Plantation: Provision of technical support for the stations palm plantation.
- Tarkwa Technical Institute (NVTI Accredited)
- Western Transport Services: Aids with transportation including inmates court attendance, transfers, hospital attendance and officers programmes.
- Faith Based Organizations within Tarkwa: For religious support and faith-based counseling services to the inmates.
HIAWA SETTLEMENT CAMP PRISON
The Hiawa Settlement Camp Prison is one of the Prison Establishments in the Western Region situated off the Bawdie-Asankragwa highway and very close to the Ankobra River. It was established to help decongest other Prisons and with the core mandate of embarking on Agricultural activities to produce crops and rearing animals to supplement Government efforts in terms of the feeding of the Prison inmates which helps to reduce the huge burden cost of their feeding.
On record, the land occupied by Hiawa Camp Prison was originally acquired by Bremang Gold Company Limited.
In 1961, the Government of Ghana acquired the land from the Dredging Company and handed it over to the Department of Social Welfare to be used as Boys Industrial School and a Rural Training Centre, following its fold up after the collapse of the First Republic and the vicissitudes at the time.
In 1968 the Government appointed the Asafo Adjei’s Commission to inquire into the conditions prevailing in the Prisons. The Commission therefore recommended, inter alia, that the facility should be taken over by the Ghana Prisons Service for the establishment of a farm Camp to decongest the Prisons as stated earlier.
As a result of Government’s acceptance of the recommendations of the Commission, the Prisons Service entered a negotiation with the appropriate Government Departments especially the Lands Commission for the release of the Camp to the Service.
In April 1989, the facility was eventually released to the Prisons Service by the Western Regional Administration for the establishment of a Camp Prison as indicated in the report during meeting of site Advisory Committee appointed to select a site for Hiawa Prison Farm at Hiawa.
Authorized Capacity
The authorized capacity of this establishment is Seventy/70 inmates.
Major Rehabilitation/Reformation Programmes
Considering the type of prison (Camp), the only productive rehabilitation programme and mandate for this station has been farming.
Areas of Collaboration
- Faith-based organizations: for counseling services to the inmates on regular basis.
Ghana Health Service: Assisting in provision of quality of healthcare in areas of regular screening, mental health support and disease control, health education for the inmates and officers.
