Ghana, Corrections in

Corrections in Ghana has evolved from communal traditional practices emphasizing offender reintegration and restitution to offender punishment in prisons. Prisons in Ghana represent a colonial legacy and its modus operandi via the maintenance of safe custody, and welfare provision since independence remains unchanged. The raison d'être of prison administration is security and discipline, with little emphasis and resource provision geared toward offender rehabilitation. With no parole system or alternatives to imprisonment, Ghana's prisons remain severely overcrowded with a concomitant effect on both prisoners' and prison officers' stress and well-being. This entry gives a broad overview of corrections in Ghana with a focus on (1) the history of imprisonment, (2) the structure of the Ghanaian prison system, with attention to both adult and juvenile corrections, and (3) a profile of prison officers, the principal custodians of incarceration.