The Department of Social Welfare with support from UNICEF Ghana has trained selected Probation Officers at a two-day workshop on the updated Probation Desk Manual. The training is aimed at increasing the knowledge and skills of the probation officers on the instructions and guidance of the probation best practices. A statement from the Department of Social Welfare copied to the Ghana News Agency said the workshop also sought to build the capacity of probation officers on the probation desk manual and increase the number of trained probation officers at the community level in anticipation of the passage of the Community Service Act 2023. Probation service is a statutory criminal justice service that supervises high-risk offenders released into the community. Social Welfare officers who defend children’s rights in court provide probation services in the country. Dr. Afisah Zakaria, Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in a remark made on her behalf by Rev. Dr. Comfort Asare, Director for the Department of Social Welfare, said the Probation Desk Manual served as a valuable tool to help the officers carry out their duties professionally and effectively as it had laws and policies in it. She urged the officers to impart the acquired knowledge on the manual to their colleagues at the office on return. Ms Stella Mawusi Mawuto, the Volta Regional Social Welfare Director, who chaired the training workshop advised the Officers not to relent on the challenges surrounding their field of work but use the limited resources available to yield good results. Ms Hilda Mensah, a representative from UNICEF-Ghana encouraged the Probation officers to share experiences and expertise to enable them to use the manual as a weapon in their field of work and also fight for rights of children and women in the society The Probation Officers of the Department of Social Welfare play a significant role in the criminal justice system by safeguarding children’s rights and assisting the police in locating the juveniles’ parents, guardians, and relatives. About 70 probation officers from the southern sector and four Facilitators making the total of 74 participants from the Volta, Central, Western, Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions were trained on the probation desk manual.
Source: Ghana News Agency