Government is pushing for major reforms in Ghana’s criminal justice system through a proposed Community Service Bill designed to reduce prison overcrowding and promote rehabilitation for minor offenders.
At a meeting in Accra with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka said Ghana’s prisons are currently operating about 35 per cent above capacity, making non-custodial sentencing increasingly necessary.
The proposed bill would allow courts to sentence offenders convicted of minor crimes to community service instead of prison terms. It applies to offences punishable by three years’ imprisonment or less.
Under the proposal, offenders could be required to undertake community service for between four and eight hours a day over a maximum period of six months.
Mr Mubarak-Muntaka described the bill as a practical and humane alternative that would reduce pressure on correctional facilities while giving offenders an opportunity to reform without being exposed to the harsh conditions of prison.
The draft legislation is organised around seven thematic areas and 66 sections, setting out how the programme would be implemented and monitored.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, James Agalga, welcomed the proposal, saying community service had become an important justice tool in many countries.
He noted that if passed, the bill could help tackle long-standing problems within the prison system while encouraging a justice system focused more on rehabilitation than incarceration.
