POS Foundation hails passage of Community Service Bill as major Criminal Justice Reform

The POS Foundation has welcomed the passage of the Community Service Bill, 2026 by Parliament, describing it as a landmark achievement in Ghana’s criminal justice reform agenda that will promote rehabilitation, reduce prison overcrowding, and strengthen restorative justice.

In a statement issued after Parliament approved the Bill, the Foundation congratulated the Government, Parliament and the people of Ghana for supporting what it described as a historic piece of legislation aimed at creating a more humane, effective and restorative criminal justice system.

According to the Foundation, the new law, once operationalised, will empower courts to impose community service orders instead of custodial sentences for eligible offenders convicted of specified offences punishable by prison terms of less than three years.

The Foundation said the alternative sentencing regime is expected to significantly reduce congestion in the country’s prisons, facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, prevent low-risk offenders from becoming hardened criminals through unnecessary incarceration, reduce the financial burden of imprisonment on the State and encourage offenders to make meaningful contributions to their communities.

The Foundation traced the origins of the reform to more than two decades ago, noting that the proposal for community service as an alternative sentencing option was first introduced in 2002 through a collaboration involving the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Ministry of the Interior, and other stakeholders.

It said years of sustained advocacy by government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, and criminal justice actors eventually led to the successful passage of the Bill.

POS Foundation highlighted its own contribution to the reform process, explaining that after consultations with the then Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, it was tasked with coordinating the preparation of the initial draft legislation.

With financial support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the Foundation engaged legal consultant Sandra Ewurama Thompson to prepare the first draft of a Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill before convening a national validation workshop involving representatives from government, the Judiciary, academia, civil society, and development partners.

According to the statement, stakeholders at the workshop agreed that Ghana should pursue a standalone Community Service Bill rather than a broader non-custodial sentencing framework because existing laws already provided for some alternative sentencing measures.

Following nationwide stakeholder consultations, the Foundation commissioned Dr. Isidore Kwadwo Tufour to prepare the first draft of the Community Service Bill, which was submitted through the then Chief Justice to the Ministry of the Interior, for further consideration.

The Ministry subsequently established a technical committee made up of representatives from relevant state institutions and civil society organisations to refine the draft legislation before it was presented to Cabinet and Parliament.

The Foundation commended both the previous and current administrations for demonstrating bipartisan commitment to the reform, noting that while much of the preparatory work was undertaken under the previous government, the current administration secured Cabinet approval, laid the Bill before Parliament, and worked closely with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior to secure its passage.

POS Foundation also pointed to its long-standing efforts to improve Ghana’s criminal justice system through initiatives such as the Justice for All Programme, which it said has contributed to reducing the country’s remand population from 33 percent in 2007 to 12.8 percent, according to records from the Ghana Prisons Service.

While celebrating the passage of the Bill, the Foundation called for the urgent development and approval of the necessary legislative instrument to operationalise the law and ensure its effective implementation nationwide.

It also urged Ghanaians to embrace the principles of restorative justice by supporting rather than stigmatizing persons sentenced to community service, stressing that successful offender reintegration depends on communities willing to provide second chances and encourage positive behavioral change.

The Foundation expressed appreciation to President John Dramani Mahama, the Government, Parliament, the Ministry of the Interior, the Judiciary, CHRAJ, CDD-Ghana, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Crime Check Foundation, the Legal Resources Centre and development partners including OSIWA, Open Society Foundations and DANIDA.

As well as all stakeholders whose contributions helped make the legislation a reality. It also appealed to the President to give prompt assent to the Bill to pave the way for its implementation.

 

 

 

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