Standards of detention should not be just “minimum”, but rather “ basic“ standards: these are the contents of “Norms and Normality,” a new booklet containing a set of standards for the incarceration of adults in Italy. It was presented on 29 January 2018 during a press conference held by Mauro Palma, Italy’s National Guarantor of the rights of persons detained or deprived of personal liberty.

As Palma pointed out, “Norms and Normality” is a work in progress. At present, the booklet contains all the recommendations from the reports of two years of visits to 59 adult prisons in Italy. As the Guarantor carries out more visits, more recommendations will be added. When the Guarantor visits a penitentiary institution, he uses a checklist that includes all thematic areas subject to monitoring, in order to detect any shortcomings.

The standards contained in “Norms and Normality” are the same as the thematic areas monitored by the checklist, namely: material and hygienic conditions of detention facilities; equipment and use of common areas; sections and special rooms; sections for the special regime 41-bis; quality of life in detention; management of critical events; prevention and management of radicalisation; penitentiary regime; human rights protection; right to health; registers; and personnel.

An important aspect that was underscored during the press conference is that the recommendations are non-binding, meaning that administrations are not obliged to implement them. However, they represent an important tool to improve detention conditions. This is also why the standards contained in the volume are defined as “basic” rather than “minimum” standards.

While minimum standards are levels below which detainees’ rights are at risk of violation, basic standards are higher levels that aim at a progressive improvement of prison conditions.

Read more on Monitoring prisons to raise standards

Despite a very good normative framework, Italy’s penal system still fails foreigners, especially those who do not speak Italian. This is according to our latest research, which looked at the very first phases of penal proceedings, beginning with the arrest and ending a few days later with the validation hearing.

The findings highlighted in the research include the poor organisation of translation services, the limited time detainees are given to speak with their lawyer, and the limited use of alternatives to detention.

The main research findings

For almost thirty years, Antigone has been proposing a re-evaluation of criminal law in an effort to see it shift to a paradigm of minimization, meaning that the use of criminal law should be kept to the minimum. The list of crimes should now be revised based on the principle of real offensiveness. Non-custodial sentences should be increased and detention should be used as a last resort to prevent and punish those behaviours that can seriously damage the fundamental rights of another person and endanger society.

For the upcoming political elections set for 4 May 2018, Antigone has prepared and presented a document with five proposals for candidates and parties to sign and endorse.

With regard to justice, Antigone believes that the focus of the next legislation should be on, among others:

• the legalization of cannabis and the decriminalization of its consumption;
• repeal of the crime of irregular immigration;
• identification numbers for law enforcement officials;
• reform of solitary confinement in the penitentiary system;
• reform of ancillary penalties and recognition of the right to vote for detainees.

Another important issue is the program of reform of the penitentiary system. The long-expected reform, that would enhance the living conditions in prison, is almost complete; however, some important issues (such as conjugal rights, custodial security measures and the establishment of a penitentiary system specifically for juveniles) were not addressed by the reform program.

As these reforms are very important to advance the justice legislation, it will be extremely important that the next legislature address them to complete the work of the former Parliament.

See the document with five proposals for candidates and parties

In spite of the difficult times that Italy is undergoing, the decision of the Italian Parliament to reform the penitentiary code has been well received. The revision of the code is the latest step on the path of reforms that started when the European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy for prison overcrowding in the Torreggiani case of 2013.

In July 2017, after the Italian Parliament began formulating a delegating law to reform the penitentiary system, Antigone presented 20 proposals to update the penal code.

These proposals included the introduction of stricter limits on the use of solitary confinement, the formulation of a code of conduct for police officers and prison guards, enhancing the quality and use of alternative disciplinary measures, more educational and work opportunities, and the drafting of a dedicated penitentiary code for minors.

Although a final decision on the reform bill has not been reached, its contents were published very recently. It could be regarded as a step forward from the legislation currently in force: the dignity of persons and their rights are put at the centre; the European Prison Rules are referenced in the law - therefore incorporating them into Italian legislation; dynamic surveillance (which has been informally used in Italian prisons up to now) is finally formally recognised and regulated; new technologies for inmates’ communications with the outside are taken into consideration; access to alternative measures is enhanced.

The downside of this reform program is that some guarantees have been undermined justifying it through the keyword “simplification”. Moreover, at times, the echo of the old idea of “correctional” institution re-surfaces. Despite the positive aspects, some areas of penal law are still being ignored.

There is no movement to reform conjugal rights, the right to a family life or the right to religious freedom, nor is any attention being given to enhancing the specific situations of foreigners and women.

Antigone responded by submitting comments on the reform bill to members of the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies who had to revise the Bill. Antigone commented on the parts of the delegating law that have not been taken into consideration, the reforms that have been made but that could have been implemented further, and the negative modifications of the penitentiary code.

The Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and the Justice Commission of the Senate released their comments on the Bill in early February. Unfortunately, their comments on some of the forward steps in the Bill were negative and they proposed several restrictions on some very important issues (such as the access to alternative measures to detention). Time is of the essence and Antigone hopes that the government will not amend the Bill by accepting the restrictions of the two commissions because they would nullify the meaning of the reform.

Read comments of Antigone on the reform bill.

Guardiamo Oltre is Antigone’s fourth report on juvenile detention facilities since her last one published in 2015. It contains data analysis, numbers, in-depth examination on specific topics and is also based on her visits to the institutions.

Guardiamo Oltre is available on a new Internet site, Ragazzi Dentro, which is completely dedicated to juvenile justice. It includes the latest report with fact sheets on every Italian Penal Institute for Minors (IPM), in-depth analysis of specific issues, photo galleries, graphs and videos (filming was done by Antigone’s observers), as well as Antigone’s previous reports on juvenile justice. Ragazzi Dentro is regarded as a source of information on juvenile justice for students, researchers, and prison workers.

Since the mid-80s, the number of minors and young adults (those aged 18-25 who committed a crime while of minor age) in IPMs has been around 500, which represents 3% of those who are reported to the judicial authorities. It is therefore safe to say that in the case of juveniles, prison constitutes the ‘extrema ratio’, or a solution of last resort, in a system that prefers other measures, such as probation and alternatives to detention.

“Guardiamo oltre” refers, in fact, to looking beyond the successes that the juvenile system has achieved up to now, and to moving away from the idea that imprisonment is an acceptable way to deal with minors. IPMs should look and function less like prisons and more like ‘comunità’ - foster homes where alternatives to detention are offered. 

Crimes against property were the most prevalent offences among minors who entered IPMs during the year. Juveniles who end up in prison are mostly foreigners (who come mainly from the north rather than south of the country) and the most marginalized children from the south of Italy.

There are some differences between foreign and Italian minors; for example, the percentage of foreigners who are subjected to precautionary detention is far greater than that of Italians.