Italy Plans To Add 15 Thousand Cells To Reduce Density In Prison

Prison illustration. (Unsplash/Matthew Ansley)

JAKARTA - The Italian government has pledged to add up to 15,000 cells and facilitate the transfer of prisoners with problems of addiction to treatment centers, to address the crisis to prisons that have been going on for a long time.

The condition of inmates in Italy attracted attention, following a record suicide of inmates last year and complaints about soaring summer temperatures at detention facilities without air conditioning.

As of July 15, Italy is known to have 62,986 inmates. Meanwhile, the effective capacity in prison reached 47,289, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.

This makes Italy have a occupancy rate of around 133 percent, one of the worst in Europe.

According to the World Prison Brief database, only Cyprus and France had a worse fate. Last year the Italian Parliament approved legislation to improve prison conditions, but the practical impact was small.

"We believe a fair country should adjust the prison capacity to the number of people who need to serve their sentences," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement late Tuesday.

PM Meloni's administration proposed a plan worth US$758 million (890 million) to expand prison capacity by nearly 10,000 by 2027, and a separate initiative that was not budgeted to add 5,000 cells in five years.

The government has also adopted a bill - requiring parliamentary approval - to allow most inmates with alcohol or drug addiction to leave prison and serve their sentences at a rehabilitation center.

"They are people who need treatment, not criminals who need punishment," said Justice Minister Carlo Nordic, while noting inmates with addiction problems span nearly a third of the prison population.

Minister Nordio also referred to last week's announcement that up to about 10,000 inmates nearing the end of their sentence could qualify for home detention or probation.

His ministry has formed a task force to accelerate the assessment of these cases.

Early release of prisoners will be carried out in stages, in part due to the political sensitivity of this move to far-right governments such as PM Meloni, known for his firm approach to law and order.