The prison has been in the news recently for a number of reasons, particularly the resignation of the director following a surprise visit by Home Affairs Minister Emmanuel Mallia, a visit by Social Solidarity Minister Marie Louise Coleiro to the YOURS section and the reference to the building of the new juvenile prison by Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg.

Both Mallia and Coleiro expressed preoccupation at the lack of activities, educational or otherwise, available to prisoners, particularly the juveniles in the YOURS (Young Offenders Unit Rehabilitation Services) section.

What is seriously missing at CCF, is an organised day structured according to the needs of the inmates

Here, I intend to highlight why the prison is in the present situation and, more importantly, what ought to be done.

Anyone who looks into the structure of how the prison operates notices the real lack of ‘correctional’ personnel. By correctional personnel one understands people who are employed specifically to work with inmates in the process of rehabilitation for reinsertion into society and not the prison guards.

With a limited staff of two social workers and three psychologists, for a prison population of over 600, one understands how difficult it is to have meaningful interventions in prison. In the ‘education centre’ at CCF there is one full time coordinator. Most of the teaching is done by part-timers.

The budget line for education in prison is a pittance.

The centre itself leaves much to be desired and its location is problematic, mainly because the policy of segregation hinders access to it by all inmates.

Still, these are issues that can be solved mainly through reorganisation and investment.

What is seriously missing at CCF, is an organised day structured according to the needs of the inmates. There is no personnel employed in the prison to actually organise the day of the inmate. For want of a better word, there are no ‘correctors’, a word I would prefer to substitute by educators.

A correctional prison should support the inmate to cope with life in prison as well as provide the necessary education and skills one needs for proper reinsertion and resettlement in society. Inmates need a sentence plan, one that, at present, cannot be designed, supervised and adapted because of the lack of personnel in this area.

It should divide the role of the prison guard (correctional officer) and the educator. The educators (youth workers, teachers), together with the social workers, psychologist and the correctional officers should be involved in the design of the ‘education path’ of each inmate.

This educational path should include an analysis of the strengths of the inmate, the direction the inmate wants to take with his life and the identification of the tools the inmate needs to achieve these aims. Such tools include basic literacy and numeracy, academic education, vocational education, life skills and soft skills; a programme that leads to employability at the end of the prison sentence.

Inmates should be supported in getting a job before they leave prison. Meaningful work, other than just the assembly of a particular toy, should be introduced in the prison. Inmates should not have to choose between paid work and (unpaid) education. Benefits available to adult students outside prison should be made available for those inside as well. Education should not be an automatic right but only those who show commitment to improving themselves should be supported.

Employers should be given access to prison to educate on the world of work and should be financially motivated to employ inmates as they are motivated to employ persons with special needs and other minority groups.

NGOs and other entities should be encouraged to work with prisoners but with the proper vetting, preparation and supervision.

The prison should encourage inmates to make use of outside education providers, with amendments to the law to make this possible.

The authorities should consider the introduction of an open prison, to complement the structures in place. Tagging should be introduced. With regard to youths, the prison authorise should look closely at the set-up Spain and Portugal have. Sentenced juveniles are not sent to prison but to a closed/semi-closed or open education centre.

Here, the security is farmed out to private companies. The guards act only in cases of a security breach.

The day is organised by educators. Inmates are expected to do various activities during the day, including academic and vocational education and work.

Sport and social activities play a major role in the inmate’s day.

Structure and responsibility are the main pillars of the system.

One hopes that with the new juvenile prison both the physical structure and the philosophy of the ‘prison’ would be conducive to such a project.

Joseph Giordmaina, a senior University lecturer, has been involved in education in prisons for the last 15 years

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