A comprehensive plan to address Italy’s chronic prison overcrowding crisis is poised for review by the Council of Ministers imminently. Responding to recent appeals by the President of the Republic, the government aims to implement emergency measures across penitentiaries nationwide. Key provisions include a decree facilitating alternative detention for up to 10,000 inmates—prioritizing those awaiting trial for non-violent offenses or serving minimal residual sentences.
Concurrently, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio is advancing legislation to assign home confinement or community rehabilitation for drug- and alcohol-dependent prisoners, alongside modular prison construction initiatives. The overcrowding crisis remains acute, with over 62,000 detainees straining facilities designed for 47,000.
Separately, Minister Nordio is accelerating constitutional reforms to separate magistrates’ careers, targeting a public referendum by February 2025 following Senate approval. Last week, he established a task force to fast-track alternative measures for 10,105 eligible inmates meeting strict criteria: under 24 months remaining in sentences for non-excluded crimes and no serious disciplinary violations within the past year. The decree also streamlines regulations for prisoners’ telephone access.
A distinct bill will strengthen home-detention protocols for addicted detainees, tightening standards for community placements—a system underperforming since its 2023 introduction. For infrastructure, Commissioner Marco Doglio is expanding major prisons in Rebibbia, Milan, Bologna, and Cagliari. Prefabricated modules—already tested in Grosseto—will supplement capacity, with 400 pilot units launching soon and 1,500 planned nationally after inspections in Opera and Voghera prisons.
The government explicitly rejects pardons or amnesty, as advocated by opposition groups, opting instead for bureaucratic efficiency. This includes deploying prison registry clerks (“matricolisti”) to calculate residual sentences, easing judicial workloads—a proposal endorsed by the national prisoners’ ombudsman.
© Copyright ANSA. All rights reserved.