Most prisoners lack tools to reform

Out of every two Maltese prisoners released from jail, one is likely to return behind bars, according to a survey that underscores the lack of rehabilitation at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

Fifty-six per cent of inmates said they have been to prison more than once and 64 per cent felt they are not being prepared for reintegration into society.

For the survey, carried out last January by Mid-Dlam Għad-Dawl, an NGO that works for the rights of prisoners, the researchers interviewed 211 of the 260 Maltese prisoners incarcerated at the time.

Forty-five per cent said they do absolutely nothing during their stay and the rest said they find ways of keeping themselves occupied.

More than half of the respondents said they are not given the chance to take part in vocational courses.

Only 18 prisoners said they learned some kind of trade. But among the trades listed were "negativity", "drugs" and "hate".

Sixteen per cent said they were learning an academic subject and 10 per cent maintained that the subjects on offer such as languages, philosophy and accounts did not suit their needs.

One of the participants was following a course at the University of Malta and another had applied to follow a course at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.

A prisoner felt that the Corradino Correctional Facility was a school of criminality and another said he sees "nothing but drugs".

A 21-year-old at the Juvenile Section admitted that his drug intake had increased since entering prison. Another declared he was learning to prime himself for more wrongdoing.

The study noted that an 18-year-old respondent had already been in prison twice. A 21-year-old was serving his third term and, at 30, another prisoner had already been to jail eight times.

Another concern raised by the study is that 48 per cent of youngsters are not being held in the Juvenile Section but are in the main prison population.

The study, which aimed to analyse the hopes and fears of prisoners about resettlement, found that one in every four of the respondents were afraid of what the future held in store for them. Some feared returning to prison and others feared not being accepted by society or not finding employment.

One in every three said they thought about their future in terms of their family.

Fr Mark Montebello, who was responsible for the study, told The Times that the correctional facilities are severely lacking in rehabilitation programmes. Prisoners are deteriorating rather than bettering themselves and this is detrimental to society.

Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, who wrote a foreword to the survey, said prisoners were being provided with a wide range of life-enhancing services.

In his foreword Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the ministry was planning to introduce a number of measures for the benefit of both prisoners and victims of crime, including the introduction of parole and restorative justice processes. This will involve offenders having to make amends for their wrongdoing by giving compensation to victims and through community service.

Statistics provided by the study, he added, had prompted the ministry to propose the introduction and implementation of measures to enhance justice systems "that truly reflect the values, needs and expectations of prisoners".

Fr Montebello believes prisoners should be provided with resettlement programmes and post-release services to ensure proper integration into society.

Prisoners are finding it especially difficult to sort out accommodation, employment and financing needs once they are released and ex-prisoners are often shunned by family members and by society at large, he said.

The study quotes a 56-year-old prisoner who said "this is no correctional facility" and another insisted that no rehabilitative mentality existed, "just confinement".

"Most of the inmates are wonderful and talented people who are sucked into a downward spiral because of drugs, financial problems and family breakups.

"These problems are aggravated once they enter prison, so they keep coming back," Fr Montebello said.