Impose non-custodial sentences...to decongest prisons

24/08/09

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Jasmine Arku

A CRIMINOLOGIST, Professor Ken Attafuah, has urged the Judiciary to impose suspended or non-custodial sentences on convicts who commit less serious crimes as a way of decongesting the country’s prisons.
Besides, he said the increasing number of re-offending among ex-convicts “indicates a clear failure of the rehabilitation of prisoners by the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS)”.
He said “the courts are enjoined to impose custodial sentences only when it is the reasonable option”, and stressed that “the goal of rehabilitation is a cardinal concern in the imposition of custodial sentences”.
Prof. Attafuah was reacting to the 2008 annual report of the GPS which indicated that the rate of congestion in Ghana’s prisons worsened last year due to the increasing prison population.
The report cited a high incidence of re-offending among ex-convicts as a contributory factor to the increasing prisoner population. Of the 9,377 convicted prisoners admitted in 2008, a total of 1,806 of them, representing 19.3 per cent, had been previously convicted.
Prof. Attafuah said: “Statistics indicate that the Judiciary continues to impose custodial penalties on convicts instead of liberally exercising their discretion to impose non-custodial penalties in appropriate cases as prescribed by the law.”
He mentioned probation, parole, fines, community service, apologies and compensatory service by the perpetrator to the victim as some of the non-custodial penalties that could be exercised under the country’s laws.
He stressed that the high incidence of repeated crimes showed the inadequacy of the resource base of the GPS “in ensuring effective rehabilitation and re-moulding of the character of prisoners.”
According to him, facilities at the prisons “are not only primeval, but also severely inadequate”, while the occupational skills imparted to the inmates “are not in keeping with contemporary needs and standards of society”.
Prof. Attafuah mentioned antiquated blacksmithing, tailoring with ancient machines, leather bag making and basket weaving as some of the out-of-fashion skills at the country’s prisons.
As a result, he said upon their return from prison, the ex-convicts were not able to find any gainful employment.
Prof. Attafuah, who is also the Executive Director of the Justice and Human Rights Institute, said many employers refused to engage ex-convicts, even when the crime committed was not related to the work they were going for.
“That discrimination is unjustified. It forces ex-convicts to hinge on the arms of criminals who are ready to offer them comfort,” he said.
Besides, Prof. Attafuah said most of the ex-convicts were not able to form lasting relationship with women, thus making them careless.
Besides, he said the society rejected ex-convicts, which compelled them to seek solace from their colleague criminals, and thus forcing them to continue committing crime.
He, therefore, urged the public to let ex-convicts feel the sense of belonging, since it had the potential for reducing the incidence of crime in the country.