Hardened criminals - 'out on the loose'

Acting prison director Abraham Zammit yesterday admitted to MaltaToday that he has adopted an ‘ad hoc’ policy above the established prison rules, and is allowing inmates out into the community without an escort, years before the established prison rules actually allow him to do so.

The inmate was photographed together with another man who is serving time for  attempted murder, as they both sat on stone slabs on Ghaxaq’s main road where they were reportedly sent to work on the local council’s new garden and football pitch.

Abraham Zammit could not provide replies to MaltaToday whether he was “certain” the inmates had no contact with third parties, used a cell phone or strayed from the designated area whilst out without an escort.

“I am not God,” Zammit told MaltaToday while he stressed that the paper had an agenda in pointing out this case.

While Ghaxaq residents have expressed shock to know that a convicted drug trafficker was allowed so close to their homes without any surveillance, Ghaxaq mayor Emmanuel Vassallo stressed that although he knew that inmates were helping out in community work in his locality, he didn’t know anything about the premature release of the prisoners.

While it is an accepted fact and principle for restorative justice to be put into practice allowing inmates out to conduct community work, both the acting prison director and government could not provide any answers as to how were prisoners who have not even served half of their time, are already being trusted out of the prison walls without an escort.

Police officers who patrolled the area expressed similar shock when they came face-to-face with whom they thought was put behind bars at such an early stage.

When speaking to MaltaToday, Abraham Zammit confused the issue with prison leave, to justify his decision to allow inmates out of Corradino without escort, when it is a known fact that prison leave relates to inmates who visit close relatives, and still be under escort.

Established prison rules state that no inmate can be allowed out on a daily basis to conduct work unless he has three months remaining to end his term in prison. In the case of study, this may be granted two years before the termination of sentence.

But in the case of the convicted drug trafficker photographed in Ghaxaq this week, records show that he is up for release in 2014, making his release now irregular according to prison regulations.

According to a home affairs ministry spokesman, the inmates were out of prison as “part of a pilot scheme related to the Restorative Justice Programme.”

But the ministry was also not forthcoming in explaining how an inmate was allowed out of prison without an escort at such an early stage into his sentence.