Crisis communication in the Ghana Prisons Service a case study of the Kumasi central prison riots

Abstract

The 2-day riot at the Kumasi Central Prison which took place on February 4, 2015 was considered one of the biggest riots recorded in the Ghana Prison Service history. This study sought to examine how communication during and after the riot was handled. The objectives of the study were to identify the role communication plays during the various stages of crisis management at the Ghana Prison Service (GPS) and also examine the factors that affected the implementation of effective communication in crisis management at the Ghana Prison Services. Using the Situational Crisis Communication Theory as the framework for this qualitative case study, the findings revealed that during the riots, officers were given certain guidelines to follow in terms of communicating with the media and their publics. The study found that during and after crisis at the GPS, the T.A.P (Truth, Assessment and Poise) method was employed in dealing with the situation especially when dealing with the media. Again, it was found that during the riot, measures such as facility shut down, intelligence briefing, press releases, setting up investigative committee were some of the mechanisms employed by the crisis management team. The study concluded that fear and uncertainty, contradicting messages and inadequate resources were crucial challenges in crisis communication in the Ghana Prison Service. The study recommended that management of the Ghana Prisons Service should communicate and sensitize its stakeholders on matters related to crisis management and also develop a communication manual for the Service and the bureaucratic nature of top-to down communication channels be critically examined to avoid media speculations.