Accra: Crime Check Foundation (CCF) has successfully trained 76 prison officers from seven designated prison establishments to screen inmates and identify their psycho-social and arts therapy needs.
According to Ghana News Agency, the beneficiary prisons include Nsawam Medium Security, Kumasi Central, Sunyani Central, Koforidua Local, Winneba Local, Awutu Camp, and Ho Central Prisons. This training is a segment of a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) sponsored project, ‘Enhancing Access to Psychosocial Support and Arts Therapy in Prisons in Ghana.’
The initiative, led by CCF, aims to provide emotional, social, and psychological assistance, enhancing the mental well-being and resilience of prisoners, especially in difficult situations. The project’s primary goal is to sustainably improve access to psychosocial support, including arts therapy, through collaboration between civil society organizations, academic institutions, and the Ghana Prisons Service.
The project also aims to increase psychosocial support through individual and group psychotherapy by psychologists and psychiatrists and through arts therapy projects, including theatre and writing, in collaboration with universities.
Alhaji Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, Executive Director of CCF, relayed to the Ghana News Agency that the training includes providing psychosocial support to prisoners. He emphasized that the Prisons Service’s role extends beyond custody to offering support that aids in transforming prisoners and facilitating their reintegration into society post-release.
Kwarteng noted that manuals and multimedia materials have been developed to assist officers in this initiative. He also mentioned plans to expand the project to other prison establishments across the country.
The project was inaugurated in August 2024 by the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, represented at the time by Matilda Baffoe-Bonnie (Esq), then Deputy Director-General of Prisons In-Charge of Finance and Administration. Now the Director-General, Mrs. Baffoe-Bonnie praised the initiative as a significant advancement towards an effective correctional system.