Criminologist and lawyer, Prof. Ken Attafuah is cautioning against heavy handedness in dealing with Prisons Officers who on Wednesday abandoned their post for the streets in protest over unfair salaries. “The state cannot sit down and allow people in such a very very critical security sector to embark on this action. The state ought to meet with them to stop their action; not call off their bluff in the sense that 'okay, you lay your tools and get away; we fire you and we replace you because,' you cannot do that. “They are too vital; too important; too strategic for the state to take such a high handed approach,” he told Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday. His comments follow hints by a Deputy Information Minister James Agyenim Boateng that punitive measures will be taken against the prisons officers who went on demonstration in Kumasi and other parts of the country over what they say is a raw deal handed them under the new salary structure, the Single Spine Salary Structure. The aggrieved officers do not understand why their counterparts in the Police Service will earn more than they do under the new salary structure. Prof. Ken Attafuah who is the Executive Director of the Justice and Human Rights Institute and who has insights into the activities of the Prisons Service said cool heads must prevail. He conceded the action by the aggrieved officers amounted to “mutiny and rebellion” but will prefer other sanctions other than an outright dismissal of officers found culpable. “They cannot be fired; they should not be fired. Perhaps some other forms of sanctions ought to be imposed on those who might have led to this kind of action. “…But by all means their legitimate grievances must be addressed and it must be done at a round table not on the platform of public confrontation,” he said. According to Prof. Attafuah, the Prisons Service is among the “least recognised; least rewarded and least appreciated” public servants in the country even though their occupation is one of the risky occupations in the country. Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service ASP Courage Asem has also condemned the actions of the Prisons Officials. He said a Board of Inquiry will be set to investigate the matter and appropriate measures will be taken. He will not preempt what punitive measures will be taken against the wayward officials. Joy FM’s Ashanti Regional correspondent Elton John Brobbey said calm has returned to the Kumasi prisons where the officials took to the streets. Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview with Dr Attafuah Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana