Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame has revealed that cabinet has given its approval for the passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing bill and the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act to help decongest the prisons while enhancing justice delivery.
Mr. Dame made this known when he toured the James Camp Prison in Accra.
He said the draft bills would be put before parliament soon for their passage to enhance justice delivery in the country.
“Amendment to the Criminal Procedure 1960 Act 30 to incorporate plea bargaining firmly into the trial of cases. By this amendment into the criminal procedure act, plea bargaining will be permissible in cases except a few that will be set out in the act,” he said.
He added, ’Cabinet has granted approval of my request for the policy and the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to be laid before parliament.’
He however stated that offences including treason, rape, piracy, kidnapping, robbery, genocide and murder, and others relating to public elections would be excluded from the bill.
The Director-General of Prisons, Isaac Egyir while advocating for the establishment of a central electronic case management system to help streamline the activities of justice sector institutions for efficient justice delivery, called for training packages for prisons staff to enhance their capabilities in their profession.
“The establishment of the central electronic case management system with defined operational procedures, common to all criminal justice institutions will guide the criminal agencies and establish responsibilities and guidelines for effective service delivery,” he appealed.
According to him, ‘the service will also appreciate your support in electrically streaming its database for effective linkage between the prison establishments and the central administration or headquarters to facilitate speedy access to inmates’ information and record to reduce the volume of paper works.’
Present at the event were also the AG’s two deputies, Diana Asonaba Dapaah and Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa and the Deputy Interior Minister, Nana Ayiah.
CCF advocacy
Crime Check Foundation (CCF) has been advocating for the passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing bill into law to get petty offenders into community service to help decongest the prisons.
