A prisoners' rights group described the recommendations made by an inquiry board probing the situation inside the prison as the "most sensible" document in 16 years on what the government had to do to improve the correctional facility.
Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl spokes-man Fr Mark Montebello described the recommendations, penned by a three-strong team chaired by former prisons director Emmanuel Cassar, as "truly impressive".
He said the last time there was such a document was in 1993, when Judge Maurice Caruana Curran submitted the findings of an inquiry he had headed. These fresh recommendations "take the bull by the horns", Fr Montebello said when contacted.
The board, appointed by the government last August, called for police officers inside the prison to be substituted by senior correctional officers, the introduction of a proper system for allocating prisoners to divisions on entry to prison and the installation of equipment to block mobile phone calls inside the prison.
The board also made proposals to curb the drug problem in prison, insisting there should be a zero tolerance approach. Its proposals include the need for well-manned entry points, searches, special vigilance during food deliveries and the transportation of prisoners to court and stepping up security measures in vulnerable areas like the bakery, the chapel, education rooms and the gym.
It also recommended tight controls in visiting areas, the purchasing of modern drug detection equipment and an increase in random drug testing.
Fr Montebello said the recommendations should be complementary to the proposals made in the recently-published White Paper on the parole system.
"These recommendations should not be subject to arbitrary selection. For the first time in years we have a clear way forward out of the mess we are in and a real effort to implement all recommendations should be made," he said.
The Justice Ministry said on Tuesday a compliance unit had been set up to ensure the recommendations were implemented. Fr Montebello expressed hope that the political will on this existed.
He pointed out that during a television programme a week ago Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici "explicitly and categorically" stated his unwillingness to remove police officers from involvement in prison and prepare senior correctional officers to fill all prison posts, including that of director.
Questioned about this, a ministry spokesman said the wide-ranging suggestions made by the board could not be implemented in the short-term "due to various considerations". The highest priority would be given to measures that enhanced security.
"In view of this, and in view of the fact that the police contingent within the prison was already reduced in the recent past, the minister does not believe that the removal of police officers is at present the best way forward," he said.
When contacted, the chairman of Prison Board of Visitors, Ivan Mifsud, stressed the importance of screening new prisoners to determine their needs and which section of prison they were assigned to.
Moreover, effective segregation was needed to keep young offenders away from seasoned ones and those awaiting trial separate from convicted felons, he said.
"The prison needs funds to recruit the correct people and embark on the right programmes for education and training. There is also the need to invest in new equipment and infrastructure," he said.
Mr Mifsud said the prison was suffering from an "acute shortage" of staff, including psychologists, adding there was a serious need for continuous training and, in certain cases, retraining, of staff. He said there was also the need for a "beefed up and well organised management hierarchy".