Access to rehabilitation programmes for inmates of Nsawam security prisons in the eastern region of Ghana

Abstract

Although prison inmates are often seen as burdens on society, as their criminal activity has made them unproductive citizens, rehabilitation programmes within prisons give inmates the ability to become productive citizens upon their release. Such programmes, which focus on providing inmates with skills and knowledge, have the potential to greatly affect their integration back into society post-release, thus decreasing the likelihood that they will commit similar crimes in the future. However, because of the increasing number of recidivism in our various prisons, the feasibility of the rehabilitation programmes in our prisons is been questioned. This study examines prisoner’s access to the rehabilitation programmes at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons. The nature of rehabilitation programmes available at the nsawam Medium Security prisons, the policies underpinning prisoner rehabilitation and the benefits of prisoner rehabilitation. The key findings from the study were presented in themes. Based on an analysis of qualitative interviews, the study concludes with recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders, which focused on enhancing existing prisoner rehabilitation programming and networking to sustain their success.