Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545300
10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 JUNE 2026 OPINION Prison severe overcrowding: An ignored crisis IN its Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations for 2025, the Council of Europe reported that Malta's prison system was the fifth of nine across Europe with "severe overcrowding", having 118 inmates per 100 places avail- able. This overcrowding crisis of unprecedented proportions is probably the root cause of why, despite the many laudable efforts to improve the system, our correctional facilities are neither punishing nor rehabili- tating, let alone protecting. How can we forget the Om- budsman's damning conclu- sions following an own initi- ative investigation regarding possible systematic maladmin- istration at Corradino, finding that there was endemic dys- functionality in prison man- agement, degrading treatment of prisoners, and use of intim- idation as an operational tool? This brings to mind one fa- mous quote attributed to Fyo- dor Dostoyevsky: 'The degree of civilisation in a society can be judged by entering its pris- ons.' Prison population statistics are based on the number of people held in prison, the base- line certified normal accom- modation, and the operational capacity. In light of the above, the per- tinent questions remain: When will we run out of prison space, and why does it matter if our prison is 'severely' overcrowd- ed? When a prison is asked to ac- commodate more people than it is designed to hold, it piles more pressure on people work- ing there and makes it harder to meet the needs of people liv- ing there. If someone is incarcerated, we should do everything possi- ble to assist them in transform- ing their life and moving away from criminal behaviour. But overcrowding, coupled with chronic staff shortages, makes it more difficult for prisons to engage everyone in activ- ities that help rehabilitation, such as exercise, education, employment and training. For many people, this means be- ing locked in an overcrowded cell at a time when the physi- cal state of prisons is getting worse. Rules state that all cells must be certified as being "adequate for health" in terms of their size, lighting, heating, ventila- tion and fittings. If cells are not adequate for health, then they must be either fixed immedi- ately or withdrawn from use. But recent inspections by outside sources continue to reveal that people are being placed in cells that are not fit for purpose. As overcrowding pressures continue, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that cells are being certified as adequate when they are not. The growing tension behind bars is reflected in statistics revealing worrying rises in self- harm and violence. Where in- cidents require police investi- gations or referrals to hospitals for treatment, they put further strain on local public services, while overcrowding makes it harder to respond effectively to major incidents. So how did we get into this mess? These problems did not come out of the blue. The prison population has almost doubled in the last few years. After a rapid increase in the 1990s and 2000s, it began to stabilise in the 2010s and decreased slight- ly during the COVID-19 pan- demic, but it has since risen again to reach record heights. Urgent action is needed to ease the strain on the prison system, and the government must take action to reduce the prison population and increase prison officer numbers. This is not a response to ris- ing crime. In fact, recorded crime has fallen, so it is clearly a sign of how changes in sen- tencing policy, led by politi- cians, have had a dramatic im- pact. Strange as it may sound, prison sentences have been handed down more and more, and they have got longer and longer over time. Campaigns calling for the creation of new offences or the introduction of longer sentenc- es to address specific issues or problems have contributed to this shift. The impact of these campaigns can be far-reaching. When politicians make sen- tences longer for one crime, it often leads to calls for longer sentences for other crimes. And so it goes on. A backlog of cases in the courts, which grew longer during the pandemic, has not helped, either. The number of people in prison on remand awaiting trial or sentence keeps rising. Overwhelmed by overcrowd- ing, the Corradino Correction- al Facility is not preparing peo- ple for life outside, and there is insufficient support for people when they are released. Too of- ten, we see people leaving pris- on without somewhere to live. Yet solutions can be put in place to cope with prison con- gestion. Broadly speaking, these measures can be clus- tered into two groups. On the one hand, some solu- tions impact prison admission and release. Examples include strengthening community sen- tences and adopting other such alternative measures; the early release of individual prisoners well before the conclusion of their legally imposed sentences via parole; and the mass release of prisoners via general par- don-like measures. On the other hand, the most common, but also controver- sial, tool is the expansion of the physical capacity of the prison system through the construc- tion, growth, or renovation of national detention facilities. Some countries have also hired prison spaces in other jurisdic- tions. Yet these measures seem unable to address prison con- gestion in the long term. It has never been clearer that a change of direction is needed, and the longer we leave it, the harder it will become to ad- dress the situation. Mark Said Veteran lawyer It has never been clearer that a change of direction is needed, and the longer we leave it, the harder it will become to address the situation Corradino Correctional Facility (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)