The Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi has advised Prisons Officers to maintain the highest standard of respect and professional conduct at all times, and also to be mindful of the nature of their work as it involves taking care of offenders who have been deprived of their liberty and as a result may be mentally disturbed.

Mrs Anne-Kumi made the call last Friday, at the passing out parade of Recruit Course 119 at the Prison Officers' Training School at Roman Ridge in Accra. The Course which was made up of four hundred and seventy-two (472) recruits’ officers who passed out as Second Class Officers to begin their roles as Prisons officers to ensure the safe custody, welfare, reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners.

The recruit course, comprised two hundred and ninety-four (294) young men and one hundred and seventy-eight (178) young women drawn from backgrounds such as nursing, agriculture, technical, sports, secretarial and general duties.

Mrs Anno-Kumi who was the Reviewing Officer of the passing out parade, in her speech, congratulated the recruit officers for completing their training and putting up an impressive performance on parade.

"Treat prisoners humanely as per the International Protocols and standards you have signed to. Reforming these individuals to become productive and law-abiding citizens is no mean task. Also bear in mind that the Prison Service thrives on discipline and also upholds the ideals of vigilance, humanity, fortitude and integrity. These principles should guide you throughout your career if you want to succeed," she stressed. 

The recruits as part of their training were taken through formal classroom instructions, practical exposure to the day to day running of prison establishments and management of prison inmates. The subjects undertaken were: Prison duties, Prisoner Information Management, Penal Statistics and Penal Law. The rest were First Aid, Inmates' Sentence Computation, Interpersonal Skills, Foot and Rifle Drill, Taekwondo, and Judo.

Awards were given to some recruited officers who distinguished themselves during the training. Recruit Officer (RO) Dwobeng Asare Baffour was adjudged the Over All-Best and Best in Order of Merit Awards (Academics), RO Nelly Sally Ackon received the Commandant's Award, RO Ebenezer Tetteh received Best in Physical Training and RO Maxwell Koomson emerged Best in Drill.

Present at the passing out ceremony was the Director-General of Prisons, Mr Isaac Kofi Egyir; the Director of Prisons in charge of Welfare and Human Resource, Mr Francis Omane Addo; the Director of Prisons in charge of Technical and Services, Mrs Patience Baffoe –Bonnie and the Director of Prisons in charge of Health, Mr Samuel Adjei Attah.

Others were the Director of Prisons in charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Akolbire; the Director of Prisons in charge of Agriculture, Mr Hanson Adu Awuku and the Commandant of the Prison officers Training school Deputy Director of Prisons Joana FofoTackie-Otoo (Mrs.)

Source……www.sompaonline.com/Yaw Boamah