Seeing that the Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF)’s strategy head is out on forced leave at the moment, I thought this might be the opportune time to say something about the subject.  It is time to do so, seeing that during all the centuries that we have had prisons in Malta, we have had plenty of prisons and prisoners but apparently no strategy how to manage them.        

The first forerunner of what is now the CCF was opened in 1837, the aim being to accommodate all prisoners previously detained in five separate prisons in Malta and Gozo.  None of them had a strategy.  Ok, perhaps that would have been asking too much of the Ospizio Prison in Floriana or the Castellania Prison in Valletta over 180 years ago.  But surely not when it concerns the “modern” facility at Corradino.

The CCF itself does not appear to have a strategy, nor does the Home Affairs Ministry responsible for it.  At least, I could not find one anywhere.  If, on the other hand, it does exist, it is a non-strategy since no strategy can work if it is not known to all stakeholders.

Drawing up a strategy

So, it seems to me that the idea of somebody being tasked with drawing up such a strategy is good.  As to who should draw up such a strategy, I would think that the person tasked with it would need to have the proper qualities for the job, including a track record in strategic planning and implementation.   

Around the strategist would be a team of criminologists, psychologists, criminal lawyers, civil rights lawyers, NGOs (such as The Prison fellowship, Caritas, the RISe foundation, and others), educational experts, the Association of Social Workers, and the Prisons Officers’ Association, to mention a few.  Other relevant ministries would need to be consulted.  Yes, good strategic planning includes involving stakeholders from the get-go, not after some know-it-all has spoken from Mount Sinai.

Oh, I didn’t mention the prisoners themselves.  Yes. They too should be encouraged to contribute to the strategy.  I suppose that is what was happening at Corradino lately, isn’t it?  After all, the detainee involved in the most recent contoversy certainly had a high-flying management job and knows a thing or two about strategising, including – allegedly – how to launder money, defraud the public purse and, if need be, knock off somebody who objects to the strategy.

I’m not sure I would put the prisoner concerned in the same league as Malta’s most famous prisoner, namely none other than Fra Jean Parisot de la Valette.  Yes, the Grand Master had spent four months in the Old Prison at Cittadella, though that was before he became head of the Order of St John.  Fra de la Valette was incarcerated after he participated in a rowdy incident and attacked a man.  

A vision and a mission

But, on a serious note.  It all has to start with the Vision and Mission: namely how to have a safe prison built on respect for human dignity, providing a safe and secure environment for prisoners while engaging in their rehabilitation so that the wider community can feel safer.  Somebody might refer me to ministerial statements about these matters but, as I said before, a strategy is not worth the paper it is written on unless it is implemented. 

I have often remarked how in Malta we specialise in writing strategy documents, especially since often we are compelled to do so by the European Union before we get a cent out of Brussels.  But as to their implementation, we fail all too frequently.  Mind you, this doesn’t happen in the government only; I know of quite a few commercial companies which have failed miserably in this area.

The strategy might include the question of the prison facility itself, in terms of its capacity to accommodate an increasing population; the human and financial resources required to run the institution; the pathways to help prisoners turn their lives around and lead crime-free lives on release; improved safety in the prison itself; improving behaviour, order and discipline; how to cater for different types of offenders   ̶   mostly how to prevent offenders who have a good potential to be reformed from becoming hardened criminals in the prison itself; providing better healthcare, including mental care, to offenders; how to provide literacy, education, and skills for re-employment; the provision of an efficient and modern technological infrastructure; the particular requirements of women, persons with disability, LGBTIQ+ persons, and young offenders; the skills required by prison wardens and their recurrent training; the post-prison treatment of offenders to reduce the risk of recurring criminal behaviour; how to deliver better outcomes; the accountability of all personnel in the prison; and the good governance of the facility.

Involve the experts

Please, this is not an exhaustive list, and I am not an expert in the area.  But I must admit that, before I wrote this piece, I consulted with a couple of experts.  Though I cannot mention them, I can only say that we have a wealth of people who can contribute.  One only has to involve them and really listen to them.

By the way, the strategy should also include a roadmap with clear timeframes for the implementation of the objectives, setting out the milestones for their achievement.  Whether the strategy succeeds or not will be determined not by some press release for public consumption, but by evidence-based deliverables and key performance indicators.

As it is, rather than being known for a successful strategy, the CCF has in the past been in the news as a drug centre and a place where inmates are likely to commit suicide.  It was also subject to a scathing audit by the National Audit Office.  I would be remiss not to mention that, since then, there have been instances of success. However, more, much more, needs to be done.