Call for a more transparent rehab procedure in prison

The system used by the prison authorities to determine which inmates are eligible to attend a drug rehabilitation programme should be made more transparent, according to two men who worked with inmates.

"When I worked in prison, inmates often asked why they were not accepted into rehab when others were. Some said they were constantly asked to wait but were never sent. This waiting wore them down," said Desmond Zammit Marmarà, who ran the school at the Corradino Correctional Facility for 12 years.

Dominican friar Fr Mark Montebello, who works among inmates, agreed, saying there was need for more transparency in the decision-making process of the prison board when determining whether and where to send inmates on rehabilitation programmes.

A few weeks ago, inmate Mikiel Anġlu Mamo complained to a magistrate that to get help in terms of drug rehabilitation in prison one had to be either well known or have money. Mr Mamo made the comment when he was arraigned on theft charges.

Reacting to the comment, the acting director of prison, Abraham Zammit, said: "Mr Mamo's comment is unjust and unfounded. Rest assured that the 49 inmates (attending rehabilitation programmes)... are inmates who have shown the necessary motivation. There is nothing holding inmate Mamo from joining one of the rehab programmes except himself."

Mr Zammit noted that it was an independent board - the Prisoners' Substance Abuse Assessment Board - that decided if and when a prisoner was sent to rehab.

Mary Anne Agius, who chairs the board, explained that to be sent to rehab an inmate went through a rigorous process and the decision was taken unanimously by board members.

The multidisciplinary team included representatives from three residential rehabilitation centres - Sedqa, Caritas and the Substance Abuse Therapeutic Unit (Satu) - the prison director, the rehab manager, the doctor in charge of Satu and two prison psychologists.

An inmate wanting to join a rehab programme first files an application and tests are conducted to assess addiction and motivation. The board evaluates the findings and examines whether the individual falls within the established parameters.

The inmate must be a sentenced prisoner and must have spent at least six months in jail before starting rehab. Further, the person will start the programme during the final stage of the prison sentence, which cannot exceed two years.

Both Fr Montebello and Mr Zammit Marmarà noted that inmates often complained such criteria were not adhered to.

While, in practice, the role of the board was clear, all too often its decisions and the reasons behind them were not clearly communicated to prisoners, Fr Montebello said. There had been times, he added, when prisoners complained that new inmates made it to rehabilitation before those who had been waiting.