Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1174220
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 OCTOBER 2019 confinement lead to worse ef- fects, even relatively short pe- riods in confinement can have profound and lasting psycho- logical consequences. One psy- chologist conducted a study of 100 randomly selected prison- ers being held in a Californian supermax prison in 2003. "He found that almost all the prisoners in solitary confine- ment experienced high anxi- ety levels, irrational anger and irritability, mental confusion, and heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. Many people in solitary confinement become so desperate that they experi- enced a psychological break- down, often resulting in seri- ous self-harm and, in the worst cases, suicide," Azzopardi said. Azzopardi also claimed the cost to run this system was "ex- orbitant financially", but did not produce any details on the finances required. Malta's cor- rectional services cost just un- der €15 million to run in 2019. "For example, are citizens willing to wait for the national health services because re- sources are directed to mitigate the harmful effects of solitary confinement on prisoners?" Azzopardi asked. "There is also another 'cost', that of having to deal with vengeful attitudes against society, broken families, mothers whose children end up like this. For what? Are we ready to pay tax money to hurt a locked-up prisoner?" Azzopardi said solitary con- finement only worsens inmates with pre-existing mental health problems or disabilities who are even more vulnerable to the ad- verse effects of their experience. "Humans have a fundamental need for social contact, and re- search has shown that the social pain – as experienced in cases of confinement – has an over- lapping effect with emotional pain in the brain," Azzopardi said, also listing stress-related reactions such as decreased appetite, a sense of impending emotional breakdown, height- ened anxiety and panic, irrita- bility and aggression, paranoia, as well as increased suicidality and instances of self-harm. "We need to keep finding ways how to support victims of crime [but] solitary confine- ment remains a controversial matter because we still relish a prison system that is essentially retributive rather than rehabili- tative. The need for vengeance is still pronounced in our public psyche," Azzopardi said. "Yet solitary confinement un- justly weighs against the per- petrator of the crime and does not respect the notion of pro- portionality… once it doesn't contribute to reform, it sim- ply serves to break an inmate's spirit making them hate society even more. It fuels, rather than neutralises, a criminal mind- set." Azzopardi wants academics, policymakers, practitioners and politicians to sit around a table and find alternative ways of retaining order and stability within the prisons system. "As a national university we are duty- bound to provide a service to the State – we are ready to take this on. Until change in legisla- tion and regulations takes place, checks and balances of how, when and in what circumstanc- es this method is used need to remain monitored, scrutinised and evaluated." Azzopardi also said solitary confinement should not be part of the courts' sentencing. "From where I stand it's a des- perate measure on the part of those who lack other solutions. It does not do the job it is meant to do. It does harm which re- sults in making the situation worse rather than better. So, logic dictates that if it doesn't work, and it causes harm, why do we still do it?" Both the Council of Europe and World Health Organisa- tion contest the use of solitary confinement, yet they accept there are circumstances that make it acceptable. The WHO urges that in cases where soli- tary confinement is used as a last resort, prisoners be kept in decent physical conditions with access to educational, rec- reational, and vocational pro- grammes. The practice of solitary con- finement originated in the United States during the early 1800s, as an experiment as- sumed to encourage prisoners to reflect on, and subsequently repent of the crimes they had committed. The practice con- sists of isolating an inmate, de- priving them of social contact and sensory stimulation for most of their day. It has been used as a form of punishment for prisoners who would have committed egregious crimes, committed infractions whilst in prison, or as a form of pro- tection – either to protect the person in confinement, or to protect others from the person in confinement. Solitary confinement spread to various continents, but as early as 1890 the US Supreme Court identified the risk of "prison psychosis" and prisons gradually stopped the practice. The punishment, however, saw a resurgence in the 1960s, as prisons started to deal with overcrowding and violence amongst inmates. NEWS A full job description of these posts is available on the MDB's website: www. CAREER OPPORTUNITY A full job description of this post is available on the MDB's website: www.mdb.org.mt. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the MDB on careers@mdb.org.mt or on +356 2226 1700. are to be submitted by Monday 28 October 2019 addressed to: VLT 1041 or via email on careers@mdb.org.mt BRIDGING THE INVESTMENT GAP SUPPORTING SMEs, INNOVATION, INFRASTRUCTURE & SOCIAL INVESTMENT • (JobsPlus permit 739/2019) mdb.org.mt The Malta Development Bank (MDB) is a promotional bank set up by the Government of Malta in 2017 in terms of the Malta Development Bank Act, 2017 (CAP.574). The aim of the MDB is to complement commercial banks so as to bridge development in Malta, with special focus on SMEs, infrastructure, innovation, digitalisation, education, and other socially-oriented projects. candidates with banking experience who are citizens of European Union Member States for the following vacancy: This post oers an excellent career opportunity and carries a very attractive remuneration package commensurate with qualications and experience. Deputy Chief Executive Ocer Andrew Azzopardi: "Solitary confinement unjustly weighs against the perpetrator of the crime and does not respect the notion of proportionality… once it doesn't contribute to reform, it simply serves to break an inmate's spirit making them hate society even more. It fuels, rather than neutralises, a criminal mindset"