WATCH | Andrew Azzopardi: ‘Our criminal justice system is close to collapse’

Andrew Azzopardi believes Malta’s criminal justice system is close to collapse because of failing infrastructure and a lack of political will to address certain problems.

Excessive heat inside the Corradino Correctional Facility during the summer and solitary confinement as the chosen form of punishment are just but two issue Azzopardi raises. He says the authorities acknowledge the problems and the concerns but fail to act.

And it is this paralysis that cuts across the system—the police, parole, prison—that frustrates him; angers him.

As we sit down for this interview, I put to him the arguments often made whenever people like him advocate for decent conditions in prison. He dismisses the argument that prisoners shouldn’t be treated as if they are in a hotel with airconditioned cells. Azzopardi argues that in order for a person to rehabilitate themselves while serving time, they must have the right environment.

Asked on the progress he has seen at the CCF since the time of former prison director Alex Dalli, Azzopardi admits he was one of those who mistakenly interpreted a drop in suicide rates as a sign of overwhelming progress.

He believes there is still much to be improved. He insists that solitary confinement as a punishment for all wrongdoing diminishes one’s ability to be rehabilitated.

Azzopardi was not always one who believed in the cause he champions today. “It was Peppi Azzopardi who changed my mind on the subject… When I started meeting these people, I realised that there’s nothing that different between them, you or me, other than a massive mistake they once made,” he tells me.

The following is a transcript of the interview. Some parts have been edited for clarity and brevity.

The issue of extreme heat in prison seems to crop up each summer thanks to you. Can you take us back to the beginning of your involvement with this issue?

I’ve been following developments in prison for the last six or seven years. It was Peppi Azzopardi who changed my mind on the subject because I was one of those who believed that we should lock certain people up and throw away the key.

Through the conversations I had with Peppi, I’ve learned that there’s a whole world that I don’t know about. Coincidentally at the time, a couple came to me and told me their son was in prison and wished to start studying. That makes you get in touch with reality…

I started to realise that prison isn’t just a high wall meant to keep people in, but a wall that prevents people from looking in.

How did you find out inmates are baking in the heat without air conditioning?

I started having more conversations and visits with inmates and their families…

People started seeing me as a point of reference and so information started flowing. At the time it was Colonel Alex Dalli who was at the head of the CCF, and so we heard many stories of inmates suffering, restraints, and bullying.

That’s where I realised that there is a massive heat problem. I raised the issue year after year with each of the last three prison directors and they all told me a solution has to be found. But the situation right now is very worrying.

The temperature in prison cells can reach anywhere between 37°C and 40°C. Inmates are locked in at around 7:30pm and woken up at around 8am. They are also placed into cells sometime in the afternoon, so those hours might see intense heat…

Heat causes physiological difficulties. Let’s remember we have a prison facility with the purpose of punishment and rehabilitation. I never say that someone should get off scot-free…

The concept of rehabilitation is dependent on many things, and one of them is the readiness of one’s own body to be rehabilitated. Heat causes people to become more aggressive, less responsive and less logical…

It happens outside of prison let alone inside.

Exactly. So, the argument that one should suffer the heat to learn a lesson is nonsense. You cannot learn a lesson in the heat. If we want them to learn a lesson then we must punish them but give them the physical conditions necessary to rehabilitate themselves…

You make a lot of disclaimers when you speak about this subject. Do people see you as the devil’s advocate when you speak up?

Many of us remember our time during the pandemic where we all stayed in the comfort of our own houses, but still had the feeling of being a prisoner in your own home.

The fact is that in Scandinavian countries, prisons aren’t getting filled because they’re punishing inmates by being denied their friends, family, and possessions. But at the same time, they show inmates a possibility to rehabilitate themselves.

I have a problem with the concept of life sentences. We don’t have many people serving such sentences here… In Norway, their model focuses on a maximum sentence of 21 years, and during those years, inmates are examined to see whether they’re ready to be released. If not, they are given another five years in custody. It’s one thing that I believe we should contemplate as a country.

You said you’ve been campaigning on this subject for some time, ever since the days where Alex Dalli headed the CCF. What improvements have you seen since then?

That was a very dark time. We documented those suicide cases at the time that were the result of a failed system. By and large, suicides have dropped since then.

We made the mistake of thinking that just because suicides have dropped, then the problem is solved. If a teacher simply doesn’t beat children, that doesn’t make them a good teacher.

I feel like there were improvements since then, but we've reached a saturation point. I’m disappointed when I hear the prison director say that he wants to see an end to solitary confinement. Today, we’re in a situation where the punishment we give to most offences in prison is solitary confinement…

It’s clear that right now, the CCF is a place with many people, who believe they should lead. Consultants, CEOs, COOs and it goes on…

Why should inmates have more rights? Why should prison be more like a hotel? And if you once held a different set of beliefs than you do now, what changed?

It’s like when people are racist or xenophobic. It all changes the moment you meet someone from that background and you realise that your prejudices don’t make sense.

When I started meeting these people, I realised that there’s nothing that different between them, you or me, other than a massive mistake they once made…

An inmate once told me “a one-year sentence, a five-year sentence, and a 10-year sentence all lead to a lifetime sentence”. Once you get out of prison you can’t get a loan, find a job, get insurance, after you serve your time.

Government is doing a great job by introducing the concept of a second chance in some circumstances. But our criminal justice system is close to collapse.

The police, prison, parole… we have a system waiting to collapse. We had an instance recently where one division had serious problems because of the heat, and that’s no fault of the correctional officers. Many of them, in fact, want to help the inmates.