Prison drugs stats puts Corradino in bad light, minister claims

Carm Mifsud Bonnici's justice and home affairs ministry is claiming media reports citing a National Commission on Abuse of Drugs report, has cast "an unjust shadow over Malta's correctional system" because it highlighted that 41% of inmates at the Corradino Correctional Facility are on drugs.

The government is claiming that most inmates develop their habits inside prison and not upon entering.

In a new statement, the ministry for justice and home affairs said that the figure of 41% of inmates translates into 299 individuals, but that the corresponding figure should have read 233 persons.

"The figure 41% was not provided by the Corradino Correctional Facility and is not borne out by data available to CCF which is understood to have been the only data that was available to the National Commission in drawing up the report.

"The statistics provided by CCF do not lead to the conclusion that up to 299 individuals were at any point in time found positive in relation to drug abuse but indicate that the corresponding figure should have read 233 persons."

The report by the National Commission Against Drugs also came in the midst of a trial by jury of convict Josette Bickle, dubbed the 'Queen of Corradino' after she was revealed to have been trafficking heroin in prison through the help of prison warders.

The ministry is now claiming that accusations of complacency or inaction are not borne out by the facts, and that the Bickle proceedings were instituted following the resignation of the then Director of Prisons Sandro Gatt in August 2008.

Even foreign minister Tonio Borg, who was home affairs minister in 2002, is reinforcing the message that Bickle went on trial through the intervention of the authorities in an inquiry inside CCF.

"Notwithstanding the fact that in the past the Maltese prison system has inevitably had to face its fair share of challenges, the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs had definitely not shirked from embarking on comprehensive reforms," the home affairs ministry said in a statement. "On the contrary it has taken them up with vigour and the results have started to show through.

"Over the last few years the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs has spearheaded several reforms at the CCF, not only with a view to better address specific issues that required specific attention, but also to take the Correctional system to the next level with the introduction of the new procedures that the Restorative Justice Act provides for.

"Clearly, rehabilitation from drug dependency featured prominently in these reforms, as it is well known that substantial numbers of inmates demonstrate drug-related and other dependency problems. In this strategy, substance abuse is addressed from a therapeutic and a psychological, and a medical point of view."

Urine testing is conducted whenever CCF staff suspect use of drugs or have intelligence to that effect. Of the approximately 480 tests carried out between early 2010 and mid-2011, 1.2% resulted positive for opiates, whilst 0.75% tested positive for other substances.

Cases of drug possession are reported to the police for further investigation and any other necessary action. In 2010, 36 magisterial inquiries were held in cases related to the findings of illicit substances, whilst in 2011, 25 magisterial inquiries were held so far.

The ministry said drug dependence was also addressed from a therapeutic and a psychological point of view, with in-house professionals assisting inmates. The Substance Misuse Out-Patient Unit (SMOPU) also provides inmates with methadone treatment as well as alternative forms of treatment. Social requirements are catered for through the intervention of social agencies such as Caritas, Sedqa and Appoġġ.

Another aspect of the current reform was revamping the Substance Abuse and Therapy Unit (SATU) drug rehabilitation programme to deliver shorter and more intensive programmes to a larger number of inmates. 

"This reform will be particularly useful in the context of parole, as it will be a requirement for prospective parolees to be free from dependencies in order to be positively considered."

The Restorative Justice Act also reforms the remission system, which like release on parole, would be conditional.

Plans are in hand to recruit various professionals, particularly psychologists and social workers to meet the needs of the inmates within CCF, including those needs arising from drugs and other dependencies.