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Italy

Capital city — Rome

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Panorama

Overview

Prison population

Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)

93

i
2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR

The NPM report states that the calculation of the imprisonment rate is not necessarily representative, because if only men are taken into account, the imprisonment rate is 179.8 for the year 2021. If only women are taken into account, the incarceration rate is 7.4 for the same period. If only inmates aged between 30 and 34 are taken into account, the rate is 232.3, again for 2021.

The authorities publish official statistics on prison population

monthly

Monthly, biannual and annual statistics on the prison population are available on the Ministry of Justice’s website.

The prison service has a computerised record keeping system

yes

Total number of prisoners

56,127

This number does not include those in institutions for minors.

i
31/05/2023
/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti presenti

Variation in the number of prisoners

decrease

Le nombre de personnes incarcérées diminue de 9,71 % entre janvier 2020 (60 971)1 et janvier 2023 (56 127).

  1. ministry of Justice, Detenuti presenti ↩

Number of people serving non-custodial sentences

50,721

i
15/02/2022
/ ministry Justice, Adulti in area penale esterna, Analisi statistica dei dati, p. 5. (in italian).

This number includes alternatives to prison (11,163 people on house arrest and 874 people on semi-liberty), alternative sanctions (83 people), security measures (4,389 people), community service (9,077 people) and probation (25,126 people).

Variation in the number of people serving non-custodial sentences

increase

The number of people serving a non-custodial sentence increases by 20,25 % between June 2019 (42 178)1 and June 2022 (50 721).

  1. ministry of Justice, Adulti in area penale esterna ↩

Variation in the incarceration rate

increase

The incarceration rate increases by 2,12 % between 2020 (89,5)1 and 2021 (91,4).

  1. National guarantor of the rights of persons detained or deprived of their liberty, Rapport au Parlement 2022 – Cartes et données, p. 34. (in italian). ↩

Number of admissions

36,539

i
2021
/ National guarantor of the rights of persons detained or deprived of their liberty, Rapport au Parlement 2022 – Cartes et données, p. 32. (en italien).

In 2021, there will be a negative inflow-outflow balance (-10,059), the first time this has occurred since 2014. The number of entries will increase by 3.6% between 2020 (35,280) and 2021.

Number of releases

46,598

The number of releases increases by 47,7 % between 2020 (31 555) and 2021.

i
2021
/ National guarantor of the rights of persons detained or deprived of their liberty, Rapport au Parlement 2022 – Cartes et données, p. 32. (en italien).

Average length of imprisonment (in months)

19

i
2020
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – 2021 Report, p. 124.

Variation in the average length of imprisonment

increase

The average length of imprisonment increases by 21,2 % between 2019 (15,7)1 and 2020 (19).

  1. Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 124. ↩

Prison density

109 %

i
30/01/2023
/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti italiani e stranieri presenti e capienze per istituto (in italian).

Variation in the prison density

decrease

The prison density rate decreases by 9,17 % between January 2020 (120)1 and January 2023 (109).

  1. ministry of Justice, Detenuti italiani e stranieri presenti e capienze per istituto (in italian). ↩

Overcrowding is an issue for specific types of prison facilities

yes

Some correctional facilities (Como, Taranto, Larino) have an occupancy rate of almost 200%.

A statistical report from the Ministry of Justice in 2022 highlighted overpopulation in prisons in Sardinia.

The country has been condemned by an international court for its prison overcrowding

yes

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has condemned Italy on several occasions over the past few years for the overcrowding of its prisons:

  • Sulejmanovic vs. Italy (2009) case: the ECHR concluded that there had been a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning the lack of space in cells. The government granted special powers to local prison services and ordered the construction of 18 new prisons.
  • Torreggiani et al. vs. Italy (2013) case: the ECHR condemned the country for prison overcrowding and inhuman living conditions. The Court made a pilot judgment urging Italy to implement reforms to reduce prison overcrowding.

A supervisory body has issued a decision on prison overcrowding

yes

In 2023, the National Guarantor of the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty visited the Lombardy region. He inspected eight correctional facilities, including Milan’s juvenile detention facility. He observed that these facilities are overpopulated, lack various resources (management, allocation of personnel for various positions) and do not communicate enough with local health facilities. The juvenile facility is still awaiting renovation work.

Organisation

Name of authority in charge of the prison service

Ministry of Justice

Budget of the prison service

3,247,050

dollars - EUR 3,000,000.00

i
Ministry of Economy and Finance, State Budget 2020-2022, p.123.

Percentage of the ministerial budget allocated to the prison service

34.8 %

The prison service outsources the management of the facilities to private companies, either partially or fully

yes, partially

The prison service entrusts companies with the day-to-day management of certain facilities (food, commissary, work) through public-private partnerships. This type of partnership is established when constructing new facilities (Vito al Tagliamento, Bolzano) or when renovating old ones (San Vittore, Poggioreale).

The Department of Penitentiary Administration has 11 regional authorities (provveditorati regionali), responsible for applying the guidelines established in Rome on a regional level.

The regularly revisited law of 26 July 1975 n° 354 details the procedure for the prison service. This law acts as prison rules.

There are several different prison regimes:

  • The semi-open regime: under which the majority of prisoners have been placed since 2013. The cell doors stay open for between eight and fourteen hours per day, depending on the facility. The administration implements dynamic security, allowing greater autonomy for the prisoners.
  • The alta sicurezza (AS) regime: a closed, high security regime, based on Articles 4-bis and 14-bis. It is broken down into three categories, depending on the type of criminal offence: AS1 (organised crime), AS2 (terrorism) and AS3 (drug trafficking). They are kept away from the rest of the prison population.
  • The 41-bis regime: a special prison regime for prisoners charged with acts of terrorism, organised or mafia crime. This stricter high security system was specially designed to break all ties between the prisoners and fellow inmates who may be involved in the same criminal cases. Prisoners under the 41-bis regime are placed under constant surveillance in units reserved for solitary confinement. Time outside of the cell is limited to one hour. The possession of personal belongings is subject to prior authorisation from the administration. All communications with the outside are tightly monitored.1

  1. Antigone, Fifteenth report on detention conditions, 2019 (in Italian). ↩

  • Nearly 750 prisoners around the country have been placed under the 41-bis regime.

    i
    01/02/2023
    / Le Point

Prison facilities

The Italian prison system has several different categories of facilities:

  • the case circondariali (CC), detention centres for defendants on remand and convicts with sentences of less than 5 years
  • the case di reclusione (CR), for prisoners serving long-term sentences
  • the Istituti penali per i minorenni (IPM), for minors.

There are special facilities and units for female prisoners. Some called Istituto a custodia attenuata per detenute madri (ICAM) (open prisons for incarcerated mothers) allow women to keep their children with them.

Over the course of their imprisonment, prisoners’ sentences may be turned into a placement in a casa de lavoro (work house) or in a colonie penale (penal farm).

The Residenze per l’esecuzione delle misure di sicurezza (REMS) (Residences for the execution of security measures) are reserved for those deemed not responsible for their own actions or serving a security measure at the end of their sentence. These facilities have replaced the judicial hospitals (Ospedali psichiatrici giudiziari, OPG) since 2016.

Total number of prison facilities

206

i
31/01/2020
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR

Total official capacity of the prison facilities

51,403

i
31/01/2023
/ Ministry of Justice Detenuti italiani e stranieri presenti e capienze per istituto (en italien).

Variation in the capacity of the prison facilities

increase

The capacity of the prison facilities increases by 1,4 % between January 2020 (50 692)1 and January 2023 (51 403).

  1. ministry of Justice, Detenuti italiani e stranieri presenti e capienze per istituto (in italian). ↩

Most facilities had between 100 and 500 spaces. The largest prison in the country, Naples Poggioreale, has 2,200 inmates in 2021. The smallest prisons, Lanusei in Sardinia and Grosseto in Tuscany, each hold 28 prisoners on the same date.

Prison facilities are accessible by public transport

-

Prison facilities were gradually relocated from historic urban centres to suburban or even rural areas over the course of the second half of the 20th century.

Staff

Number of prison guards (FTE)

33,678

Italian prison guards belong to a police force named Corpo di polizia penitenziaria (Penitentiary Police).

i
2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 89.

  • Staff shortages are forcing senior staff to shoulder the burden of several facilities at once.

    i
    31/01/2023
    / Repubblica

Guard to prisoner ratio

1.6

i
2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 93.

This ratio was calculated from the number of officers within the penitentiary police. Many of whom hold positions outside of detention facilities.

Number of socio-educational workers (FTE)

830

i
2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 89.

Percentage of socio-educational workers in relation to the entire prison staff

2.1 %

i
2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Rapport 2021, p. 91.

The prison staff is represented by (a) union(s)

yes

Prison staff can be represented by various different trade unions: the Independent Trade Union for Penitentiary Police (Sindacato autonomo polizia penitenziaria, SAPPE), the Independent Trade Union Organisation for Penitentiary Police (OSAPP), the Trade Union for Penitentiary Police (UILPA-PP) or the National Independent Trade Union for Penitentiary Police (SINAPPE).

  • The regional secretariat of the union Osapp requested a meeting with the management of Lorusso and Cutugno prison in Turin and an intervention from the regional director of the prison service. They requested the immediate reinforcement of the prison officer workforce. Several officers have complained of not having their weekly time off for over three weeks.

    i
    05/05/2023
    / ANSA it

All those applying for a role within the penitentiary police must:

  • be in full possession of their civil rights
  • be under 28 years old
  • have a secondary school qualification (grade 2)
  • pass a competitive theory exam
  • pass psychological and physical tests

The initial nine-month training course is provided by ten or so schools across Italy. A Master’s qualification in prison and constitutional law is also provided in collaboration with the University of Rome III.
Further training is delegated to regional departments and made available to penitentiary police officers throughout their career.

The basic average income of a prison officer, including allowances and bonuses, is approximately EUR 1,800 per month.