Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1411841
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 SEPTEMBER 2021 INTERVIEW Discipline must be tempered with dignity For some time now, the Oppo- sition has been sounding the alarm about the state of Corradi- no Correctional Facility (CCF). Do you feel that criminal charges filed against two prison warders were an appropriate response to the current situation? Or do you stand by previous claims, that it is really the prison admin- istration which should be held responsible? Let's be clear about something: what happened was the conse- quence of a magisterial inquiry. I understand that a magisterial inquiry was appointed to inves- tigate the death, by suicide, of a 29-year-old female inmate; and it seems that the magistrate's con- clusion was that criminal pro- cedures should be taken against those two prison warders. So what is happening today, is only happening because of that magisterial inquiry. But I believe that is not enough. It is too lit- tle, too late: because what we are talking about here, is actually the 14th death in CCF, over a period of slightly more than two years. That amount, alone, is indicative that something is very seriously wrong with our prison system. To put that into context: on the basis of 'deaths per 1,000 in- mates', our statistics work out at double the prison death-rate in the United States. That is very worrying; and unfortunately, the government is refusing to acknowledge the gravity of the situation. And if the powers that be do not acknowledge that the problem even exists…. how can the problem be addressed? Yet on a recent edition of Xtrasajf (of which you were also a guest), Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri suggested a reform of the prison system: including the construction of a new facility, to cater for over-crowding (and distinguish between different categories of crime). What do you think of those proposals? [Shrugs] So far, we've heard a lot of words; but we haven't seen any action. But to put things into perspective: today, we still have a prison with 469 individual cells… which is currently hosting nearly 900 people. As a result – accord- ing to statistics for last February – 185 of those 469 cells, which are meant to host only one in- mate, are hosting two or more inmates. And when we talk about 'cells', we are talking about rooms that are roughly 3x3 metres... So definitely, government has to expand the present prison capac- ity. In fact, one of the proposals my party came up with, was that: yes, we have to build another 125 to 130 cells, to accommodate the present overpopulation in our prison… However, both Labour and PN are adopting the same approach: 'The prison is overpopulated; the prison must be expanded'. But criminologist Sandra Sci- cluna, whom I interviewed last February, argues that the real problem is "the huge number of inmates who are not convicted at all; but awaiting trial under arrest." Shouldn't we also, then, be looking at alternatives to prison, in such cases? Absolutely. As it stands today, we have a situation where, out of a total of 821 people currently in prison, 279 – around 33% - are 'under preventive arrest'. This means that our judicial system is not functioning properly. So gov- ernment has to ensure that the judicial system is well-oiled, well- staffed, and endowed with as many judges and magistrates as it needs, to make for a fully-func- tional administrative set-up: so as to decide cases – and issues such as bail – in the shortest time- frame possible. But we should also look into the reasons why people are denied bail in the first place. I can un- derstand that there are very par- ticular cases where granting bail may seriously prejudice the case. However, I am also convinced that there are ways and means around that problem. One of the avenues we should explore, for instance, is the possibility of elec- tronic tagging… … but isn't that something that Byron Camilleri also announced this week? A 'Bill to introduce electronic tagging'? Yes, but the bill only considers the possibility for persons who are serving the last part of their sentence out of prison. I am una- ware that it is possible, right now, to impose electronic tagging as a bail condition. That is an avenue we should be exploring: not as a general rule, perhaps; but in ex- ceptional cases. For example: so that we don't end up with mothers of small children in prison. As I am sure you are aware, there are cases right now of women - who are either serving a sentence, or un- der preventive arrest – who are separated from their young chil- dren. Surely, there should be al- ternatives to prison in such cases. And electronic tagging might be a worthwhile avenue to explore… Another factor concerns the overwhelming majority of for- eign inmates. For various rea- sons – inability to provide fixed address; likelihood of abscond- ing, etc. – foreigners are almost routinely denied bail in Malta. The judiciary itself has com- plained that the law offers no alternative to prison, for crimes such as entering the country with a false passport (that can only really apply to non-Maltese suspects). Do you have any pro- posals, to address what looks like an in-built system that per- manently discriminates against foreigners? Malta's prison is once again under scrutiny, after two warders have been charged with the involuntary homicide of Kim Borg Nicolas: a 29-year-old inmate who attempted suicide in June. Opposition home affairs spokesperson BEPPE FENECH ADAMI argues that Corradino is in deep crisis: a crisis that government refuses to acknowledge Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES BIANCHI