Understanding the rehabilitation of young male offenders

Abstract

The role of rehabilitation in reducing reoffending is a well-established one, particularly with young offenders. Much of the research credits the success of rehabilitation to the context in which rehabilitation occurs, yet little is published in relation to understanding this phenomenon within the Maltese context. This is especially relevant given than in 2013, the Young Offenders Unit Rehabilitation Services (YOURS) relocated, effectively separating the youths from the adult prison population (Malta Independent, 2013). Therefore, this study shall examine current rehabilitative practices within Malta in relation to male incarcerated youths. This shall be enabled throughout the adoption of semi-structured interviews with professionals who are directly involved in the rehabilitation of male adolescents (between 14 and 21 years), who are resident at YOURS. The data shall then be examined using thematic analysis, in order to understand what professionals perceive as the rehabilitative needs of youth. The themes identified through the data analysis are schooling, sports, family and social interactions, mental health, punitive aspects and drug treatment. The conclusions drawn from the study highlight the challenges that professionals face when attempting to rehabilitate young offenders, whilst confirming that the context in which rehabilitation occurs, plays a major role in reducing reoffending. The implications of this study indicate there is a need to provide further specialist services addressing aspects such as drug dependency, providing resident professional services such as social workers and psychologists, and increasing varied educational programmes. Furthermore, staff training and support is needed in order to strengthen existing services.