Working as a prison officer is ‘a hell’ – Prisons Director-General calls for welfare interventions

Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, has called for better pay and welfare interventions for prison officers, saying the job is causing significant mental and physical strain. Speaking to the Public Accounts Committee, she explained that officers, who have not committed any offenses themselves, must live alongside convicted prisoners, making them vulnerable to the negative conditions of the environment.

Baffoe-Bonnie stressed that prison officers face depression due to the harsh atmosphere they are forced to endure. She described working as a prison officer as "a hell," highlighting the psychological, emotional, and physical consequences of the job. The Service is also facing difficulties in recruiting new officers, as fewer people applied for prison officer positions compared to other security agencies in the last recruitment exercise, likely due to the toxic environment and low salaries.

Baffoe-Bonnie suggested that the government should compensate for these challenging conditions through higher salaries to attract qualified individuals. She also appealed for the payment of contagious disease allowance to all prison officers, not just those working in Ankaful prison, where prisoners with contagious diseases are housed.

Baffoe-Bonnie emphasized that this allowance is already given to staff at Ankaful prison, but officers in other areas, who are at risk due to the uncertain health status of prisoners, are not receiving it. She argued that prioritizing this allowance before addressing other salary issues would be a positive step and provide her with the necessary motivation to enforce existing laws.