Prisons: Guarantor, overcrowding index at 131%

(see ‘Prison emergency, Nordio…’ at 18.09) (ANSA) – ROME, 18 AUG – There are 61,465 inmates in Italian prisons. The places regularly available amount to 46,898, compared to the regulatory capacity of 51,282 with a gap of 4,360 places. The overcrowding index stands at 131.06%. This is what emerges from the report on overcrowding in prisons published by the National Guarantor of the rights of persons deprived of personal liberty and which is based on official data from the Department of Penitentiary Administration (Dap). According to the data provided, there are 149 (equal to 78%) Institutes with an overcrowding index higher than permitted which in 50 Institutes is higher than 150%. “Further investigation shows that this criticality is due to the current unusability of several overnight rooms and in some cases of entire detention sections – as stated in the report – such as San Vittore, in Milan, where the overcrowding index stands at 220.98% and it is the Institute that out of 190 holds the highest record”. “The regional analysis shows a heterogeneous situation – it is stated – although almost all regions (17) record a crowding index higher than the standards and only 3 are below the regulatory threshold. In fact, an extreme differentiation is highlighted: regions such as Puglia (164.80%), Lombardy (152.24%), Basilicata (149.34%), Veneto (146.46%), Lazio (145.38%) which show a worrying overcrowding index, largely determined by the negative gap between regulatory capacity and places regularly available, and such as to necessarily have to orient in logistically targeted terms the announced legislative interventions on the subject of prison construction”. (ANSA).