CSA Executive Team 2023/24

• President – Nicole Buhagiar
• Vice-President – Rachel Busuttil
• Secretary General – Joelle Anastasi
• Public Relations Officer – Jerome Falzon
• Media Officer – Royvin Debono
• Events Officer – Raisa Ciantar

Presidential Comment

This year new faces were elected, and hopefully this will bring different perspectives to CSA. I am very thankful to have been given this position, and I am sure all of us will work well together to achieve as much as we can. We want our team to grow so Criminology students can benefit the most out of their 3 years here at University of Malta.

Nicole Buhagiar

The Third Eye wishes the new executive the best of luck!

The post Nicole Buhagiar Elected As CSA’s New President appeared first on The Third Eye.

Introduction on Psychopathy

“Psychopathy is an enduring biopsychosocial disorder in which violence and antisocial behaviours require long-term management in order for changes to occur and for relapse to be prevented”. (Wang and Hare, 2014)

With the study of Psychopathy we tend to analyse and research the biological and innate behaviors of an individual rather than the social interactions they have and the societal environment they grew up in. The term ‘psychopath’ suggests a biological link with personality whereas, ‘sociopath’ puts emphasis upon the environment.

It is a form of personality disorder affected by emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral factors. Characterised with traits such as ‘manipulation; impulsivity, irresponsibility, superficial emotions, pathological lying, lack of empathy, and repeated violations of social norms and expectations’ (Cleckley, 1976, Hare, 1970). Some researchers link psychopathy with above-average intelligence.

The Mask of Sanity was a research study conducted by Cleckley’s, in 1957. Cleckley goes on to theorise that psychopathy is linked to above-average intelligence, absence of psychotic symptoms, absence of anxiety, lack of guilt, failure to learn from experience, egocentricity, and lack of emotional depth. These are are all essential criteria subjects to magnify.

The Triarchic Model

The Triarchic Model was created in response to a long-running discussion about psychopathy. The extent and limitations of the “construct” of psychopathy, as well as questions about whether psychopathy is dimensional or typological, and the features of psychopathy, such as variation among persons scoring highly on psychopathy measures, were all discussed.

According to the Triarchic Model (Patrick, Fowles and Krueger, 2009), it encompasses three distinct yet interrelated phenotypic dispositions. These involve; Disinhibition: a tendency to act impulsively in general, Boldness: defined as a combination of social dominance, emotional resilience, and a willingness to take risks, and Meanness, also
known as “disaffiliated agency,” is aggressive resource-seeking with little regard for others. Mixed with a biological basis (eg. impulsivity, executive control (precortex)- conduct disorder in children).

The link between Psychopathy and Crime

Psychopathy is a disorder of high public concern because it predicts violence and offence recidivism. Despite the fact that psychopaths form a small percentage of the population, there is a clear link between psychopathy and criminal activity.

‘Treatment’

Traditional means of treatment, intervention, and management, which focus on factors such as growing self-esteem, empathy, and conscience, are not as effective with psychopaths. This is due to the fact that psychopaths do not show signs of emotional discomfort and do not distinguish between right and wrong. Moreover, they will “engage” in treatment when it is convenient for them.

Treatment that focuses on the affective/emotional part of moral reasoning is unlikely to be beneficial. This is due to offending behavior is more likely to be influenced by contextual factors than by the moral reasoning principles that normally regulate behavior. As a result, moral reasoning-based psychopath therapy may not be helpful.

Read more about CSA here.

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Written by Leo Ghorishi

In order to explore and discuss ruling class crime we have to investigate the sociological theory of conflict and marxism. Marx was a famous philosopher in the criminogenic and legal field, the son of a successful jewish lawyer. Following in his fathers footsteps, Karl Marx studied law at Bonn and Berlin where he was introduced to the ideas of Hegel and Feurbach– two leading German philosophers.

Marx, Crime and Ideology

According to Marx, the rule of law exists to safeguard the bourgeoisie’s interests (the rich). He believed the bourgeoisie had to govern conflict. Because conflict causes social change, the powerful had to figure out how to control and limit it. Ideologically, inequity must be justified. Crime, according to Marx, is a reaction to systemic constraints like poverty. The ruling class’s ideology is the prevailing ideology in society, ensuring that other ideas are not heard, marginalised, or ignored. (For example, the capitalist system is rarely questioned). Marxism is known as conflict consensus structuralism, while functionalism is known as consensus structuralism. People follow the law because they have been socialised to believe this is right and this is wrong, according to Marxist values.

It’s all about the Bourgeoisie!

The bourgeoisie wields power, according to Marxist criminologists, and laws are a manifestation of bourgeois ideology. The bourgeoisie’s interests are served by the legal system and the police. These institutions are used to keep people in a condition of false awareness, control the masses, and prevent revolt.

Because advertisement is a sort of intellectual power, the bourgeoisie uses power derived from economic ownership to regulate how and what people believe about the social world. This can be seen in the neo-marxist beliefs on the impact of advertisement on society. In the form of advertising and other platforms, economic power has the ability to define -ideologically- what should and shouldn’t be idealised.

You can summarise Marx criminology and ruling class crime into four points;

1. Capitalism is criminogenic, meaning that the capitalist system encourages criminal behaviour.
2. The law is made by the capitalist elite and tends to work in their interests.
3. All classes in society, not just the working classes, commit crime, and the crimes of the capitalist class are more costly than street crime.
4. The state practices selective law enforcement.

To elaborate the criminal justice system mainly concerns itself with policing and punishing the marginalized, not the wealthy, and this forms ideological functions for the elite classes. The ideological functions of selective law enforcement ignores the fact that it is criminogenic capitalism which causes crime in the first place. The imprisonment of lower social classes neutralises opposition to the system. It also masks the worst cases of poverty out of sight to the public, illustrating to them, once again, a false consciousness.

Money, Money, Money

There is enormous competitive pressure in a capitalist society to make money, to be more successful, and to generate more profit. Why?

In a competitive economy, this is the only way to secure existence. In this environment, breaching the law may appear minor in comparison to the pressures to succeed and the pressures to break the law that affect everyone from the investment banker to the unemployed gang member (stereotypical roles of classes imposed upon us by society).

Marxists associate white-collar crime with individual white-collar crimes like fraud. It also focuses on corporate crime, which includes institutional crime, such as embezzlement. Negligence in terms of health and safety. The elite’s atrocities are frequently unpunished (Tombs and Whyte).

Marxists Criminologists and the Capitalist System

There are several Marxist theories on crime which explore the capitalist system in depth. Snider ( 1993) points out that the government is hesitant to establish rules restricting enterprises, and Chambliss (1973) highlights that private property is at the center of the capitalist system. These are instances of how the elite shape the law in their own interests. State-sponsored harm is rarely often labeled as criminal, for example; colonialism, and a slew of wars. Furthermore, the economic consequences of corporate criminality outweigh the costs of street crime.

Here’s a mind map that elaborates on Marxist Theories of Crime:

Marxist criminologists believe that the capitalist system’s volume pervades the rest of our civilization. When you think about it, burglary, robbery, and thievery all stem from personal gain, originating from the goals of economic criminals. Some may argue that corporate crime will exist even in non-capitalist societies. This can be linked to the functionalist theory, which states that all factors in society, such as industrial industries, media, religion, politics, and crime, are fundamental pillars that help to stabilise and balance a society. You may even claim that corporate criminality causes greater emotional harm than street crime.

Is Crime the result of a faulty system?

While Marx wrote little about crime, his general analysis yielded a number of influential propositions, including how crime is caused by fundamental conflicts in the social order, not by moral or biological defects. Crime is an unavoidable feature of existing capitalist societies arising from inequalities; and working-class crime is the result of demoralisation caused by labor exploitation. Crimes like theft, arson, and sabotage can also be seen as a form of protest and
revolt against the bourgeois system of property ownership and control in some ways.

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Written by Leo Ghorishi

“Crimonology has, for many feminist writers and researchers, been a constraining rather than a constructive and
creative influence.”

(Gelsthorpe and Morris, 1990:2).

Criminological theory is the product of white, economically privileged men’s experiences. This has made criminology predominantly masculine, foregoing the importance of analysing the casualty, nature and extent of female crime and victimisation.

Criminology and The Second Sex

Criminology is the systematic study of the nature, causes, prevention, consequences, control and management of criminal behaviours. As well as its extent on society and individuality. Arguments have been raised regarding criminology’s predominant focus on male offenders, stating that many studies have only focused on the male sex. Female deviance was perceived as relatively insignificant, given women’s under-representation in the official crime statistics. Little attention was paid to gender’s impact on crime and it was discovered that criminological
analysis might be understood as a reflection of solely a man’s understanding of crime.

Juxtaposing Gender Norms

Traditional gender stereotypes over the course of history dictated that women were inferior to men. Male traits include keywords such as Independent; Autonomous, Intelligent, Active, Assertive, Rational, Unemotional, Competitive, Achieving and Objective. Juxtaposing that, female traits would be described as Dependent; Passive, Uncompetitive, Immature, Unachieving, Unintelligent, Emotional, Subjective and Irrational.

Male qualities are portrayed as positives even when they led to negative outcomes, example being competitive which may lead to criminality. On the contrary, female attributes are portrayed as negatives though leading to positive outcomes, for example, conformity.

What are the implications of this?

The binaries of gender in criminality have been lamented by many theorists and philosophers. Sigmund Freud (the dapper dude in the photo) theorised that a deviant woman is one who is attempting to be a man. This enraging statement stems from the view that women are of lower social class and physiologically inferior, with actions being driven by the infamous ‘penis envy’.

Women compensate for deficiencies by being exhibitionistic, narcissistic and well-dressed. He stated that female aggression and rebellion are extreme expressions of penis envy, and to be normal, women must adjust and accommodate themselves to the duties of wives and mothers. During the time of his theories, the suffragette movement was also happening and a lot of his work was embraced by the men at the time to label the women forwarding the progressive movement for stronger women’s rights.

“Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”

W.I. Thomas believed that men and women are fundamentally different and that monogamy was a key factor in criminality. Through monogamy, women had to confine their sexual behaviour to being wives and mothers and adjust to being treated as men’s property. He continued to state that women feel confined and dissatisfied under monogamy and would release their pent-up sexual energy through criminal acts. To prevent female crime women needed to be socialized to adjust to monogamy. Thomas noted that middle-class women committed little crime since they have been socialised to ‘accept’ their position and see chastity as an investment. On the contrary, lower-class women have not been socialised to suppress their need for security and instead committed crimes out of a desire for excitement and new experiences.

The Female Offender

In 1903, Lombroso wrote in his book ‘The Female Offender’ that Women could be physically seen as ‘bad’ through physiological evidence; special cranial and facial features such as moles, height, dark hair and skin colour. Lombroso also concluded that criminal women could adjust more easily than men to mental and physical pain and often adjusted well to prison life.

21st Century Criminology

Criminology has come a long way since then. It has evolved to be more inclusive and progress on a much larger scale of studies and research. Feminist criminology seeks to increase the visibility of women in criminological knowledge; to address women’s relationships with crime not only as offenders but also as victims. It also comprehends crime as a male-dominated activity produced not as a result of sex differences but as a result of gender differences.

They aim to eliminate ‘androcentric science’ and to produce a distinctly feminist approach to crime and criminal justice.
It’s the 21st Century and gender binaries are becoming a thing of the past. Breaking binary norms has moved us into a more progressive future. With this, more studies are being conducted with gender blindness kept in mind. We always advocate for people to be themselves and to never feel trapped or feel that they are hiding behind a mask.

Check out CSA’s previous article here!

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Written by Zac Vella

Malta has been put on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force, a.k.a the FATF. This recent event has been quite the topical conversation. However, do we really know what it means when a country is grey listed?

What IS the Grey List?

The grey list consists of jurisdictions which are deemed as non-compliant and require increased monitoring by the FATF in terms of financial crime. Various activities such as money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing may lead to a country being grey listed. When a jurisdiction is placed on the grey list, the FATF will monitor and work with the jurisdiction to address certain deficiencies the FATF has identified. Moreover, when a country is on the grey list it is deemed as a high-risk country, which means foreign companies who do business with local companies may need to do more due diligence.

What about good ol’ Malta?

With regards to Malta, the FATF will aid Malta in introducing a national confiscation policy as well as passing a non-conviction-based confiscation law. This will raise sanctions available for the crime of Terrorist Financing and capability to investigate cross-border cash movements for potential terrorist financing activity. Terrorist financing refers to the funding of individual terrorists and/or groups. Increasing the outreach to report such crimes will improve communication and reporting time for a better and more effective way of identifying terrorist financing.

What can be done?

Malta will work to implement its FATF action plan by continuing to demonstrate that all necessary information is accurate and presented to legal subjects, so it can be used to prevent and identify terrorist financing as well as money laundering. Within this action plan, the FATF will also aid Malta in enhancing the work done by the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). This includes the support of authorities pursuing criminal tax and related money laundering cases, by making clear the roles and responsibilities of the Commissioner for Revenue and the FIAU. As well as increasing the focus of the FIAU’s analysis on these types of offences. This is done to produce intelligence that helps Maltese law enforcement agencies detect and investigate cases associated with money laundering risks related to tax evasion.

How will the Grey List Affect Malta?

In theory a jurisdiction on the FATF’s increased monitoring list (grey list) may have an impact on the economy and the financial system. This occurs because a jurisdiction’s attractiveness may decline which in turn may deter potential investors, corporations and companies. This may have a substantial impact upon the economy. The recent news stating that the UK has listed us as high-risk for money laundering and terrorist financing is a potential effect of the grey list.

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Written by Amy Mifsud

The number of women serving time at Corradino Correctional Facility has spiked to the highest figure in over 15 years. As of February 2021, there were 58 female prisoners, making up 7.1% of the prison population, whilst back in 2005, there were merely 14 women in prison.

This increase in women prisoners has been seen all across Europe with many laying the blame on the mistaken perception of the courts that prison is a place where women can receive drug treatment and mental health services.

Unbalanced Opportunities

Women in prison are generally more stigmatised than male prisoners and often have reduced access to treatment, programmes, and activities. This was seen even in our own prison facility at Corradino, with one article in 2018 pointing out that women prisoners did not have the opportunity to work and study as the males did. There is, however, a logistical explanation for this, in that the female wing has never occupied more than 50 prisoners until recently, whilst the male wing has seen an occupancy level upward of 500 ever since 2009. Although it is strategically more appropriate to have more opportunities given to the section of the prison with larger occupancy, it is hardly justifiable.

A case which was finalised back in 2018, detailed that seven transgender inmates were given €5000 each in damages relating to their treatment while at Corradino. The prison is well known for being a derelict, hopeless place with this being confirmed by these inmates who had to use blood-stained mattresses and were placed in dirty cells which had previously been used as storage rooms. It seems however, that the situation at the prison drastically improved after the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dalli as prison director in 2018.

Who are these ‘Imprisoned Women’?

Female prisoners mostly come from marginal groups with troubled backgrounds. When it comes to female prisoners, there is also the issue of their problematic backgrounds, with many women prisoners coming from marginal groups. This creates a complex history of abuse, self-harm, homelessness, poor physical and reproductive health, and problematic relationships. These factors would have had a large impact on their mental health, with the
situation often being intensified by drug and alcohol abuse. Many women also tend to worry a great deal about children. Studies have shown that 30% of female prisoners have previously been admitted to hospital for psychiatric needs whilst only 10% of male prisoners have had the same experience (Department of Health,2007).

Imprisoned, Isolated…

The isolation women face in prison may also be reminiscent of the isolation they felt during their abusive childhoods, therefore, making them relive that horrible situation. Furthermore, the inability to contact their loved ones outside, at any given time, can take a great toll on a person’s mental health. This combined with the lack of support they receive in prison can have detrimental consequences. Many women in prison perceive themselves as being below others
and tend to have a great lack of self-esteem and fear of failure. They also tend to blame themselves for the abuse they received either as a child or from their partner. Some have become so accustomed to abuse that they view it as a form of affection. These women portray a total lack of confidence and trust, as well as great difficulty to form appropriate, long-lasting relationships in their personal and professional lives.

The ‘Prison Environment’

The prison setting infantilizes offenders causing them to become dependent on prison staff. The prison environment forces women who previously had almost full control over their own lives, to be dependent on prison staff for even the most basic of needs as well as having to obey a higher authority which at times imposes arbitrary disciplinary rules. Whilst many women find the prison setting traumatising due to the lack of privacy and autonomy, others view it as some sort of reprieve from their home life which may have been abusive.

Many female prisoners are often subjected to increased stigmatisation than their male counterparts as well as bullying and/or sexual assault from other prisoners or even prison staff. Although it is justifiable that these prisoners should lose some form of control over their lives as part of their punishment, it is evident that there is an imbalance of power and a lack of equality in treatment between men and women. It is also inexcusable for women to be subject to emotional and physical harm by prison staff, no matter the crime they have been convicted for.

A positive turn for Corradino Correctional Facility?

Back in 2018, there were merely three mental health and healthcare professionals working within our prison facility. This number has radically increased to 23 as of September 2020 including professionals such as social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, care plan coordinators and doctors and nurses. These professionals noted that inmates find most difficulty with discovering coping mechanisms to handle the loss of freedom and anxiety they feel on admission into the prison. This is contrary to popularly suspected issues such as aggressive thoughts.

According to Malta’s Mental Health Strategy for 2020 to 2030, prisoners suffering from a serious mental illness and those who are in need of constant in-house support are currently all treated together at Mount Carmel Hospital’s Forensic Unit. This strategy has also acknowledged the gap in mental health services available for forensic patients and has determined that in order to move forward, the entire service needs to be addressed thus, a group of stakeholders from various sectors must be set up.

Positive Conclusions

To end on a positive note I must say, over the past few years Malta has taken incredible strides in bringing awareness and updating legislation regarding mental health, especially with the formation of a Mental Health Strategy for 2020-2030 which acknowledges mental health across various sectors. However, improvements still must be made in order to better facilitate the mental wellbeing of inmates during their time at prison as well as upon their release

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