Security Analyst Kicks Against Introduction of Telecom Services in Prisons

International Relations and Security expert Ibrahim Irbard has kicked against plans by Ghana’s Interior ministry to introduce telecom services in prisons, saying the move is a big security threat to the nation.

Irbard says every criminal does not act in isolation but in a gang, therefore, if a criminal in prison has the chance to communicate with his colleague hoodlums, then the core purpose of building the prisons would be defeated.

The Ministry of Interior has indicated plans to allow inmates across the country’s prisons access to their relatives and legal counsels as part of efforts to improve the welfare needs of inmates.

According to Minister Mark Woyongo “The ministry has signed a contract with MSM communication to introduce telecom services in some selected prisons to facilitate communication between the inmates and their families, friends and lawyers in a controlled manner on apilot basis at no cost to government,”

However, the Security analyst commenting on the issue, has made it clear that if an inmate is liberated to the extent of making and receiving calls as if they are free persons, it would not deter other people from committing crime.

That allowing this in our prisons would make the citizenry feel insecure.”When we call a place prison, it is not like a boarding school…, there is areason for coming up with the institution of prison…it is a measure of controlling human behavior. So in prison, you are being deprived of most of the things you could do freely at home in order for you to change from your bad ways….if people think the prison is only a second home, it would increase the spate of crime.”, the security analyst lamented.

Ibrahim Irbard thinks the Interior ministry’s intention is stemming from the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly which has been discussing Security and Human Rights of People, but he feels that the ministry should better deal with the various challenges in the prisons which have persisted for years.’’… conditions of our prisoners are very bad and I think that is what the ministry must look at…our prisons are congested, they do not have good toilet facilities, good food, proper medical attention to mention but few “,he explained.

That it is a known fact that there is a high level of corruption in the prisons service, citing findings of Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ investigations at some prisons in the country, and that in the face of these perceived corrupt workers, it was not a best practice to introduce such a system, from a security point of view since criminal inmates could bribe officers and establish contacts with their counterparts out there.

Though the move, according to the Interior ministry, would be rolled out in a controlled manner, Irbard’s stance is that the planmust be reconsidered because it has a lot of serious security

By Samuel Appau Aheng