Sunday, 6th April 2008
Government 'determined' to introduce parole system
The Government is determined to introduce a parole system tailored to Maltese society once the necessary studies and consultation processes are carried out, Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici has said.
"We are committed to introduce parole. We first need to study it in detail and create a tailor-made system for parole in our country while proceeding with due caution and safeguards... We have started working on it legislatively to prepare the structures required, such as a parole board," Dr Mifsud Bonnici told The Sunday Times.
He was speaking in reaction to an online petition, organised by the Criminology Students' Society, calling on Parliament to introduce the parole system - through which prisoners can apply to be granted release from jail early after serving part of their sentence. Conditions for their supervised release may be enforced by the board granting parole.
Asked if he had a target date in mind for the introduction of parole, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said: "(No) but what I can tell you is that I'm determined to do it".
The first step was to embark on a consultation process with civil society and monitor and learn from the experience of other countries.
The newly-appointed minister, who has five years experience as parliamentary secretary for justice, also pointed out that there were incidents in other countries where people who were granted parole committed other crimes. Such aspects, and repercussions on victims of crime, also had to be taken into account.
Sue Micallef, the president of the Criminology Students' Society, expressed concern at the public's misconception of the parole system.
"Many mistake parole for the granting of freedom to an inmate before serving time. But offenders are not set free and parole includes structures and supervision. There is the mentality that, if someone commits a crime, they should be locked away. But this is not working and the truth is that you cannot lock up people forever," Ms Micallef said.
She went on to explain that the current punishment-based system did not focus on the reintegration of inmates into society. Currently, any social workers' help or psychological assistance they receive in jail stops there and, once they step outside, they are alone.
"Parole would give them hope while in prison and provide an incentive for them to better their education or acquire a skill while in prison... This would reduce the chances of them committing another crime when they are released," she said.
Ms Micallef said there was a need to raise public awareness on the true meaning of parole. So far the online petition (that can be viewed on: www.petitiononline.com/ghsk/petition.html ) gathered just over 200 signatures and, in May, the society aims to start a paper petition during which it will explain the issues surrounding parole to the public.
Fr Mark Montebello, who runs the organisation Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl has been lobbying for parole since 2006. A mixed commission - composed of Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi (then chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee) and Labour MP José Herrera, together with two former inmates and two relatives of inmates - worked on the parole proposal. A private member's bill to introduce parole will now be presented to the newly composed parliamentary groups.
Asked whether Malta was ready for the parole system, Fr Montebello said the public objected because they perceived it as the premature granting of freedom.
"Recidivism (repeat offending) is currently at 64 per cent, which is very high. It is scientifically proven that parole reduces recidivism and so, understood this way, people should be pleased to have a system that reduces recidivism."
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Comments
I do advocate the integration of parole in Malta, and let's all remember that everyone makes mistakes, the more attempts that can be done to encourage people who have erred in the past to conform with the law, the better!
With introducing parole in Malta one must first come up with the legal setting up of such system. Therefore points such as the seriousness and the nature of the crime, the length of sentence given, and the behaviour manifested during imprisonment can, or are to, be taken into consideration when laying down the criteria. The subject of parole is based on the rehabilitative factor in the penal system. Here one is not ignoring the fact that time in prison is necessarily done to serve the sanction for the illegality done, but in the mean time a ray of hope is given to those who want to change. Some might say that people don’t change but in the mean time we do here of success stories.
Parole can be used as a bridge between the closed prison doors and the open world which the individual would be thrown into within a couple of months’ time. It can be time which is used constructively in order for the person to find a job and try to mend the broken links between him/herself and the family/friends/community.
Maybe the point which we should start thinking about is believing in a system which can contribute to believing in an individual and in his/her capability of changing. Yes, people do mistakes. Personally I don’t know of a person who has never done anything illegal… it’s just a question of not being caught. Some are lucky to be left scot-free and amend our ways in our own manner, whilst others are caught. Therefore some individuals should have the possibility of trying to change and reintegrate into society…