Parliament has passed the Community Service Bill, 2026, introducing community service as an alternative to imprisonment for persons convicted of specified categories of offences.
The new legislation establishes a National Community Service Secretariat and creates the legal framework for implementing non-custodial sentencing, a move aimed at easing congestion in Ghana’s prisons and promoting the rehabilitation of offenders.
The Bill was laid before Parliament by the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, on March 4, 2026, in accordance with Article 106(1) of the 1992 Constitution. It was subsequently referred to Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee for scrutiny before its approval.
According to the committee’s report, Ghana’s criminal justice system has traditionally depended heavily on custodial sentences, resulting in persistent overcrowding in correctional facilities.
The committee noted that the situation has placed considerable pressure on the Ghana Prisons Service while increasing government expenditure on inmate feeding, healthcare, maintenance and prison infrastructure.
It explained that the new law forms part of wider criminal justice reforms being pursued by the Ministry of the Interior to expand the use of non-custodial sentencing options.
The legislation is expected to give courts greater flexibility to impose community service instead of prison sentences for minor and specified offences, while promoting offender rehabilitation, reducing repeat offending and supporting the reintegration of offenders into society.
The committee further indicated that efforts to establish a structured non-custodial sentencing system date back to 2014, when the Ministry of the Interior, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), began developing a national policy on non-custodial sentencing.
The Community Service Act also provides legal backing for existing non-custodial sentencing provisions under the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), and the Interpretation Act, 2009 (Act 792).
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