Two prison staff members who tested positive for drugs last year have been transferred to another department, the Home Affairs Ministry confirmed yesterday.

The two officers had been found guilty in court, which however recommended they do not lose their job.

The ministry said they had now been transferred to another department, but stressed it would not identify the two because of confidentiality.

“We started to do regular, random tests among inmates and staff. Unfortunately, when we first introduced these tests we also found members of staff who tested positive,” Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said.

The minister yesterday outlined changes in the correctional services system during an international conference on restorative justice in Europe.

The minister insisted the government’s message was clear. “We don’t permit drugs in prison and those caught using drugs – be it prisoners or staff - will be heavily punished,” he said.

Dr Mallia said correctional services must strike a balance between two main missions: rehabilitating offenders and protecting public safety.

“Rehabilitation is the key to breaking the vicious circle that prohibits offenders from returning to legitimate means of earning a living. If we offer the necessary opportunities to ex-prisoners, we encourage them not to return to their old habits,” Dr Mallia said.

The conference was organised as part of a two-year project funded by the European Commission’s Criminal Justice Programme that is nearing its end.

The project started in December 2012 and its aim was to facilitate the implementation of an EU Directive establishing minimum rights, support and protection of victims of crime.

The minister added that probation and parole were two tools to achieve rehabilitation. The probation and parole department now has 35 employees holding a post-graduate degree. Probation in Malta has been in operation since 1961, but is now yielding results, according to Dr Mallia.

“This system was in place, but never worked until we were elected to government,” he said.

He added that probation and parole needed to be complemented by a correctional facility that serves its purpose, offering a hub for rehabilitation.

Saying that the worst enemy for prisoners was inactivity, the minister stressed that imprisonment had to be transformed into an educational experience that would help the offender in future.

A director responsible for education has been appointed and a new curriculum has been launched.

Two full-time sports education lecturers have also been employed and the correctional facility now has a football team that will be competing in a league.

Arts, music and paid work are also being encouraged with a fraction of prisoners’ income being deposited into a victim support fund.