A particular bit of news published this week is a major cause of concern.

In 2020, Malta registered the highest number of prisoners it has ever experienced in its recorded history, with over 900 inmates being held at the Corradino Correctional Facility in November. This was 11.4% higher compared to the previous highest registered in 2018.

This is happening during a period when the crime rate in Malta has been decreasing. This could mean that the police are doing their job better (catching more criminals in spite of fewer crimes) and/or magistrates and judges are being harsher. Now the fact that the crime rate is on the decline might not be felt – in terms of the number of prison inmates - for years to come, but it will hopefully help alleviate the situation.

But regardless, the number of inmates means that the capacity threshold of the Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF) of 600 inmates was exceeded by over 300 residents.

This raises a number of issues. Firstly, are prisoners being cramped in? Secondly, are there other ways we can deal with criminals who committed minor crimes which could, perhaps, not include jail time? Are we doing enough to deter crime? Are we doing enough to reform prisoners while they are in prison and helping them to turn their lives around? Is this increase an acceptable one given Malta’s rising population?

These are all questions that need to be answered, but one thing is for sure, prisoners are people too and an overpopulated facility is something that definitely needs to be tackled.

Perhaps expanding the facility could be one possible remedy in the short term, but in reality is this something we want? It would be better to help avoid crimes taking place in the first place by tackling root causes.

As an example, youths who turn to crime must be doing so for some reason or other. Are they themselves the victims of circumstances beyond their control, coming from generations of criminals? If yes are we doing enough to help them escape the vicious cycle? Are we creating slum areas in certain parts of the country where migrant communities feel excluded and are being exploited for very low wages, leading to them committing crimes? If so, can we tackle this issue by solving the core problems? Similair questions have been raised in the past by others, such as by Andrew Azzopardi.

The statistics showed that the Maltese component was that of 38% of all residents in CCF, whilst the foreign component equalled 62%. Something must have gone wrong. We need to identify what that is and tackle it, that way we can prevent more people committing crime. In this respect, perhaps education and integration could be one key. 

The prison statistics came out through a CrimeMalta report, which also highlighted crime trends. With a main attractor for crime, tourism, rendered null due to the loss of economic activity and recreation and leisure activities, crimes took an ominous turn with personal crime taking precedence in 2020, the report reads. Such crimes would, for instance, refer to domestic violence among others. Such crimes are best prevented through education.