Work in penal institutions

Abstract

The Quaker ideal of reforming the offender by placing him in solitary confinement where he could meditate, reflect and repent, has long been abandoned. And, though the Maltese Criminal Code (Chapter 12) still provides fo r that measure as an aggravation of imprisonment, it is normally used only as a disciplinary measure for certain breaches of conduct as provided by the 1931 Corradino Prisons Regulations, having given way to the principle of allowing prisoners time for association during which they are meant to participate in interesting and meaningful occupations designed to protect them from the otherwise degenerative effect which imprisonment may have, and to instil in them a sense of responsibility and self-respect. The basic argument outlined by the nineteenth century writers of work being a mitigation of the tedium and demoralisation of custody still holds water. However, the outlook towards the concept of work in penal institutions has undergone a further important change, viz, the therapeutic effect it has if correct attitudes are adopted, thus furthering the process of social reintegration or rehabilitation of the prisoner.