Cocaine is back in Corradino Prison.

As normally is the case, when a prisoner is caught red-handed with drugs or has committed some other infringement the individual is brought before the disciplinary board. This is what happened recently when three prisoners were found positive for cocaine. They were brought in front of the disciplinary board and the board decided to penalise them with 28 days of remission. This means that while prisoners are entitled to 28 days’ remission deducted from their prison sentence subject to good behaviour. In this particular case, this means that these prisoners lost their 28 days of remission because of bad conduct.

As a result of the case in question, a meeting was held between the authorities and Corradino’s big shots.  Attending was also the Commissioner for the Welfare of Prisoners and Development. Am I correct in stating this Commissioner for Welfare of Prisoners began objecting and did not want these three prisoners, caught positive when tested for drugs, to be penalised and made to forfeit 28 days of remission? Indeed, he wanted restitution to be made to some prisoners who had lost ‘remissions’.  

During the time of Col. Alex Dalli’s tenure and even before, this was the usual price to pay when caught with dope or tested positive; forfeiture of 28 days remission. It has to be said that many of the prison officials are unhappy under the current prison administration for they are witnessing a serious regression. 

It has to be noted that the Commissioner for the Welfare of Prisoners and Development is independent of the Prison Agency – as the law stipulates today – but this site has learned that nowadays the Commissioner is spending all his time in the office of the Director of Prisons and that it is now the former who is the true director and not Mr. Brincau.

Here I would ask the Prison Authorities whether it is true that there have been instances where the Commissioner for the Welfare and Development of Prisoners tried to influence the Disciplinary Board to restitute ‘remissions’ to certain prisoners who because of bad behaviour had forfeited remissions?

Why is it that the Commissioner of Welfare for Prisoners has all this interest to interfere in the actual disciplinary decisions taken by those who are meant to be running the prison?  

As a psychiatric nurse of long-standing, he is interfering beyond his remit even ‘if he specializes in psychological trauma related to criminal acts’ (Times of Malta Dec 18, 2021). Perhaps it would be appropriate for one and all to stick to doing what they do best and not enter spheres for which they have no leanings because, as we are seeing, instead of improvements we are witnessing more confusion and no progress whatsoever.