Promoting non-discriminatory alternatives to imprisonment across Europe : non-custodial sanctions and measures in the member states of the European Union : Malta

Abstract

The penal sanction system of Malta consists of custodial and non-custodial measures. Custodial measures include one civil prison (the Corradino Correctional Facility) and a forensic wing housed within the mental health hospital – which forms part of the civil prison. Prisoners can also be sent for drug rehabilitation and in a half-way house. In such cases prisoners will still fall under the prison authorities and can be returned to the main prison if needed. Alternatives to incarceration are divided into two – alternatives to incarceration that are not supervised e.g. fines and the conditional discharge and those that are supervised e.g. the probation order and the suspended sentence supervision order. All supervised sanctions fall under the Department of Probation and Parole. It is the courts that decide on the length and type of sentences. With regards to “reference sanctions” (i. e., the ones prescribed in the legal provisions of criminal offences) the legal length is found in the Criminal Code (Chapter 9 of the Maltese Laws) that prescribes the minimum and maximum sentence length that can be awarded with regards to crimes. It is normal practice that there is a gradation of punishment according to the offender’s criminal career. Therefore, first time offenders are rarely given a custodial-sentences. The law however does make certain exceptions with regards to certain crimes such as drug trafficking, arson etc. Crimes that carry more than seven years imprisonment cannot be given a non-custodial sentence.