Three of Malta's top criminologists have criticised the media for portraying prisoners as victims of society and forgetting the real victims of crimes.

During an interview with The Times, criminologists Sandra Scicluna, Saviour Formosa and Jacqueline Azzopardi, who teach at the Institute of Forensic Studies at the University, said that when discussing prison reform, the main focus should be on society's safety, not the well-being of prisoners.

"Over the last few years, the concept of victim has been inverted thanks especially to certain television programmes. The criminal is not the victim but that does not mean we don't have to help him," Dr Formosa said. He added that while parole is not something that should be introduced "at all costs", it would benefit society if it replaced the current system of remission.

With remission, convicted criminals begin their sentence with one third of it already knocked off, so unless very badly behaved, prisoners walk out scot-free after serving two thirds of their prison term.

However, with parole, selected prisoners are offered to carry out part of their sentence out of jail while under the close surveillance of parole officers who can, at any time, ask for the prisoner to return behind bars to serve the rest of his full sentence.

While giving prisoners an opportunity to rehabilitate and integrate back into society, those on parole are still monitored closely to ensure the safety of the public. Dr Azzopardi explained that this would only be possible after a thorough prison reform and investment in human resources. Parole should be granted very selectively with one of the important considerations being the type of crime committed. She emphasised that, like probation and contrary to popular belief, parole is not a soft option.

"If parole is introduced instead of remission, society stands to gain in many ways but the prisoners will lose a lot. It is easier for them to be completely free after two thirds of their sentence than to be watched closely for the whole of it. Parole officers are very tough and it is difficult for convicted criminals to surrender to that kind of control. That is why I think it should be offered after half the sentence is served, not after two-thirds," Dr Scicluna argued.

She explained that, with parole, prisoners have a chance to integrate with their families, seek employment and start contributing to society instead of being housed in prison at the taxpayer's expense.

"When we calculated it some years ago we found that one day in prison costs the state Lm30 per prisoner whereas one day of probation costs only Lm6," Dr Scicluna said. She added that parole could give prisoners an incentive to rehabilitate instead of becoming institutionalised within the prison culture.

But the criminologists highlighted the fact that while the prison should emphasise its correctional function, it is important to be realistic about the chances that prisoners have to reform. The success rate is between 35 and 40 per cent and many tend to return to their old ways once they find themselves back in their own communities and mixing with the old "friends" while needing to fend for themselves and start making money.

The criminologists agreed that the prison should not be run by policemen because these tend to have a police mentality that is incongruous with a correctional facility. In addition, it must be acknowledged that prison wardens are overworked and the prison needs to employ more social workers, psychologists and probation officers. Dr Formosa called for a new crime survey to understand how many misdemeanours go unreported. The last one was carried out in 1996 and found that more than half of the crimes committed are never reported. He said that these things need to be analysed and tackled accordingly.

Dr Formosa said that former prison director Sandro Gatt was right to resign in light of the negative press he was receiving. He criticised the system of choosing a prisoner as a representative of the others, saying it was reminiscent of notorious prison camps where control and authority is delegated in a dangerous and potentially-abusive way.

The criminologists were consulted by the Ministry of Justice and about the White Paper to deal with restorative justice, parole and prison reform, which is expected to be released shortly.