Ghana

===Law enforcement===
{{further|Law enforcement in Ghana|Crime in Ghana}}
[[File:Ghana Police Service Motorbikes.jpg|thumb|[[Militarized police]] Unit of the [[Ghana Police Service]]]]
The [[Ghana Police Service]] and the [[Criminal Investigation Department]] are the main law enforcement agencies, responsible for the detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security.<ref name="MINT">{{cite web |title=The Ghana Police Service |url=http://www.mint.gov.gh/police.htm |publisher=mint.gov.gh |access-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222320/http://www.mint.gov.gh/police.htm |archive-date=12 May 2014}}</ref> The Ghana Police Service has eleven specialised police units, including a [[Militarized police]] [[Rapid deployment force]] and [[Ghana Police Service#Marine Police Unit|Marine Police Unit]].<ref name="UNIT">{{cite web |title=Ghana Police Service sets up Marine Police Unit |url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/323575/1/ghana-police-service-sets-up-marine-police-unit.html |publisher=modernghana.com |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193158/http://www.modernghana.com/news/323575/1/ghana-police-service-sets-up-marine-police-unit.html |archive-date=2 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="POLICE" /> The Ghana Police Service operates in 12 divisions: ten covering the regions of Ghana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of [[Tema]], and the twelfth being the Railways, Ports and Harbours Division.<ref name="POLICE">{{cite web |title=Police Administration |url=http://www.ghanapolice.info/regional.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218115805/http://www.ghanapolice.info/regional.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 February 2013 |publisher=ghanapolice.info |access-date=19 June 2013}}</ref> The Ghana Police Service's Marine Police Unit and Division handles issues that arise from the country's offshore [[oil and gas industry]].<ref name=POLICE/>

The [[Ghana Prisons Service]] and the sub-division [[Borstal Institute for Juveniles]] administers incarceration.<ref name="Ghana Prisons Service General Information">{{cite web |title=Ghana Prisons Service General Information |url=http://www.ghanaprisons.gov.gh/page-content?page=43393a37-a28e-4f1c-8540-e8eaf28825e8&menu=29899081-5de7-4bd0-8656-6473ac6f2c3e |publisher=ghanaprisons.gov.gh |access-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024072237/http://www.ghanaprisons.gov.gh/page-content?page=43393a37-a28e-4f1c-8540-e8eaf28825e8&menu=29899081-5de7-4bd0-8656-6473ac6f2c3e |archive-date=24 October 2013}}</ref> Ghana retains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery, piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide.<ref name="Ghana – Death Penalty">{{cite web |title=Ghana – Death Penalty |url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000446&idcontinente=25 |publisher=handsoffcain.info |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020214250/http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000446&idcontinente=25 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Criminal Code and Courts">{{cite web |title=Ghana Criminal Code and Courts |url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5351.html |publisher=country-data.com |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515034443/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5351.html |archive-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The new sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations call for the international community to come together to promote the rule of law; support equal access to justice for all; reduce corruption; and develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.<ref name="DIPNote: Promoting Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions in the Great Lakes">{{cite web |last1=Perriello |title=Promoting Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions in the Great Lakes |url=https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/10/01/promoting-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions-great-lakes |website=DIPNote |publisher=US Department of state |access-date=20 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520085847/https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/10/01/promoting-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions-great-lakes |archive-date=20 May 2016}}</ref>[[File:Drugtrade.png|thumb|Ghana is among the sovereign states of West Africa used by [[drug cartel]]s and drug traffickers (shown in orange).]]

Ghana is used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers, usually from South America as well as some from other African nations.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade"/> In 2013, the UN chief of the Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "West Africa is completely weak in terms of border control and the big drug cartels from [[Colombia]] and [[Latin America]] have chosen Africa as a way to reach Europe."<ref name="DW Made for minds: Illegal drug use on the rise in Africa">{{cite web |last1=Gerra |title=Illegal drug use on the rise in Africa |url=http://www.dw.com/en/illegal-drug-use-on-the-rise-in-africa/a-16614023 |website=DW Made for minds |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314035220/http://www.dw.com/en/illegal-drug-use-on-the-rise-in-africa/a-16614023 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> There is not a wide or popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and intercepted narcotics within Ghana, since it is an [[black market|underground economy]]. The social context within which narcotic trafficking, storage, transportation, and repacking systems exist in Ghana and the state's location along the Gulf of Guinea makes Ghana an attractive country for the narcotics business.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade">{{cite web |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/ghana-hit-by-illegal-drug-trade-1.1236396 |title=Ghana hit by illegal drug trade |work=[[Gulf News]] |date=28 September 2013 |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212171614/http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/ghana-hit-by-illegal-drug-trade-1.1236396 |archive-date=12 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if">{{cite web |url=http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2013/November-20th/ghana-could-be-taken-over-by-drug-barons-ifkwesi-aning.php |title=Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if |publisher=myjoyonline.com |date=20 November 2013 |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210062520/http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2013/November-20th/ghana-could-be-taken-over-by-drug-barons-ifkwesi-aning.php |archive-date=10 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Narcotics Control Board (Ghana)|Narcotics Control Board]] has impounded container ships at the Sekondi Naval Base in the [[Takoradi Harbour]]. These ships were carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine, with a street value running into billions of [[Ghanaian cedi|Ghana cedis]]. However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade" /><ref name="Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if" /> [[Drug cartel]]s are using new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, to avoid Ghanaian security agencies.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade" /><ref name="Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if" /> Underdeveloped institutions, porous open borders, and the existence of established smuggling organisations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade" /><ref name="Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if" /> President Mills initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drug trade.<ref name="Ghana hit by illegal drug trade" />