Children ‘should not be in prison environment’

Children should be kept completely out of a prison environment and instead given the facilities and therapy they need elsewhere, the chairman of the Prison Board of Visitors has said.

“From a correctional point of view, it is important that children are not kept there – they are too young,” Ivan Mifsud said.

The recent imprisonment of two 16-year-olds, after they were refused bail over charges of stealing an elderly man’s pension money, angered and shocked voluntary groups and social agencies who said their rights had been trampled upon.

The teenagers were later granted bail and placed under a care order but the Commissioner for Children is to launch an investigation, saying she was deeply concerned by their imprisonment.

Putting children in prison reduced their chances of rehabilitation, especially since the Yours section for young people was to be found inside the prison, Mr Mifsud said.

“The board has always said that the Yours section should be out of the prison grounds. It should not even be in a prison environment,” he added.

Ideally, he said, the children should be placed in an environment that provided the therapy and rehabilitation they needed.

In a twist to the story, the Sunday Times reported that the girl claimed to have been given heroin by an inmate during her week’s stay at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

The two teenagers were placed under the care of YMCA, an NGO that provides residential services for children in difficult situations. After being released from prison and while having her first meal at the YMCA minors’ shelter, the girl vomited and displayed signs of drug-related symptoms.