ASSESSING THE ROLE OF TAMALE CENTRAL PRISONS TOWARDS REFORMING INMATES IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the role of the Tamale Central Prisons towards reforming inmates in the Northern Region of Ghana. A cross sectional design was used and triangulated with some qualitative data. One hundred and fifty prison inmates were randomly selected and both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered with instruments such as questionnaire, interview guide and observation. Data gathered were analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Product for Service Solution and descriptive statistics such as cross tabulation, frequencies and percentages were used to present the findings. The study disclosed that formal education, skill development training, information communication technology education among others were the main efforts directed at reforming inmates in the Tamale Central Prisons. The policy of amnesty and remission system were identified as key policies positively impacting the reformation of inmates at the Tamale Central Prisons whereas overcrowding and dwindling budgetary allocation were also identified as main challenges confronting the Tamale Central Prisons as an institution for reforming inmates in the Tamale Central Prisons. There is also knowledge gap regarding the role of the Tamale Central Prisons as an institution for reforming inmates. Even though the Tamale prison is bedeviled with many challenges, reformation of criminal is a reality and not a myth. The study recommends the relocation of the Tamale Central Prisons in the long term to moderately address the issues of overcrowding and the deepening of government commitment to reformation of inmates through adequate budget allocation.