Accra, Aug. 12, GNA - Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, on Thursday urged the Judiciary to consider alternative ways of sentencing offenders to help decongest the Prisons of inmates who committed minor offences.

He suggested the introduction of community services as an alternative sentence in some instances that would be beneficial to the country.

Speaking at the inauguration of an eight-member Greater Accra Regional Prisons Committee in Accra, Nii Ashietey called for assistance from the society to help to turn the Prisons into correction and reform centres by assisting inmates to reach their full potentials as artisans to enable them become self sufficient after their release.

Nii Ashietey is the Chairman of the Committee mandated to advise the Prisons Council on issues related to the administration of Prisons Service in the Region.

It would advice the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council on matters of policy relating to internal security, advice on measures to ensure proper human treatment and welfare of inmates.

The Committee would advice on the state and conditions of cells and prisons in the Region, give recommendations on the conditions and welfare of security agencies and take up other responsibilities assigned to it.

Nii Ashietey said security challenges confronting the country were enormous and required high sense of commitment, dedication and professionalism 93to enable us contain these challenging situations."

He, therefore, urged Committee members to work to the best of their ability and to device innovative ways in helping to reform the inmates and improvement of security within the Region.

Nii Ashietey said government had put in place pragmatic measures including completion of the first phase of the Ankaful Maximum Security Prison to accommodate 2,000 inmates and completion of four blocks of flats for prison officers to ensure efficient, secure, humane and reformative prison service.

In addition, he said, government had introduced the on-going "Justice for All Programme" which has led to the disposal of substantial number of remand cases, leading to the release of some remand prisoners.

He said the prisons budget for feeding inmates had also been decoupled from the main prisons' budget.

Air Marshal Asamoah Bruce, Chairman of Prisons Council, inaugurating the Committee said conditions in the prisons are deplorable and did not augur well for effective offender treatment.

He said the high number of prisoners whose cases were either under investigation or awaiting trial, continued to increase while the closure of some prison camps within the Region had worsened the overcrowding situation in the country's prisons.

Air Marshall Bruce said challenges confronting the prisons needed to be surmounted if the prisons were to serve as reformative centres rather than warehouses to keep social deviants.

He announced that the Council had initiated plans to have the inadequate feeding grant of GHp60 per prisoner per day reviewed upward to enable the Prisons Service to provide meals of substantial nutritional value to the inmates.

He appealed to the media to advocate to society to understand the need to help prisoners to be reintegrated into society after their release from prison.

Ms Merley A. Wood, a member of the Committee, expressed appreciation for the trust reposed in them and pledged their commitment and dedication to work to improve conditions in the Prisons, especially to help turn prisons into correctional centres.

The members were sworn-into office by Mr Justice Charles Quist, a High Court Judge, who administered Oaths of Office, Allegiance and Secrecy.

The other members are Ms Wood of Attorney General's Department, Mr Mustapha Obeng, Ghana Muslim Mission, Mr Ebenezar Amarteifio, Department of Social Welfare and Deputy Director of Prisons (DPP) Al-Hassan K. Legibo.

The rest are, Mr Frank Davies, Ghana Bar Association, Dr Frank Owusu-Sekyere, Ghana Medical Association and Dr Edward Antwi, Deputy Director of Public Health.