Antigone's 2024 report

The dramatic prison numbers

As of 16 December 2024, there were 62,153 inmates in Italy, compared to a regulatory capacity of 51,320.

by Davide Madeddu

23 December 2024

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Key points

Dramatic records
Rise in prisoners
Between small spaces and inconvenience
Declining staff
foreigners.
Labour, vocational training and schooling
Suicides and critical events
The appeals

4' min read

From growing overcrowding to suicides, from training to inclusion, passing through staff shortages and the inconveniences of the facilities. It is a dark picture that the Antigone Association (which deals with the rights of persons deprived of their liberty) describes in its 2024 report on Italian prisons.

Dramatic records

"The 2024 of prisons is leaving us with dramatic records, that of suicides, that of deaths in prison, and a growth of the prison population so sustained that it is already causing a situation of real inhuman and degrading treatment across the board. - says Patrizio Gonnella, president of Antigone-. We have collected a report (presented today), a few days before the Jubilee appointment that will see Pope Francis cross the threshold of the Rebibbia prison for the opening of one of the Holy Doors".

Rise in prisoners

The report indicates a growth in the number of prisoners. "As of 16 December 2024, there were 62,153 in Italy, compared to a regulatory capacity of 51,320 places," the document reads. "Of these places, however, 4,462 were in fact not available, due to inability or maintenance, and therefore the actual capacity drops to about 47,000 places, and the actual crowding rate reaches 132.6 per cent.

That is not all, the report points out that "the growth rate of the prison population is now unsustainable". "A year ago, at the end of 2023, there were 60,166 inmates, about 2,000 fewer than today." The average crowding rate is 132.6 per cent. The peak is in San Vittore in Milan with 225% followed by Brescia Canton Monbello 205%, then Como and Lucca 200%, in Taranto 195% and in Varese 194%.

Between small spaces and inconvenience

Then there is the chapter on the liveability and conditions of detention facilities. "In the 87 prisons visited by Antigone's Observatory in the last 12 months, in 28 institutes, 32%, there were cells in which 3 walkable square metres were not guaranteed for each prisoner". The study points out that "35.6 per cent of the prisons visited were built before 1950.

Most of these, 23% of the total, even pre-date 1900'. Not only that, 'in 10.3% of the institutions visited, not all the cells were heated. In 48.3% there were cells where hot water was not guaranteed all day and all year round". Furthermore, "in 55.2 per cent of the institutes visited there were cells without showers" while in 25.3 per cent "there are no spaces for working".

Declining staff

Staff numbers are also decreasing. The report records a decrease of just over 10 per cent in the number of operators. 'They were on average one for every 87 inmates in 2022, became one for every 76 inmates in 2023, and one for every 68 in 2024,' it goes on to say. 'If we look instead at the prison police staff, on the contrary, there is a decline in relation to attendance. There was on average one officer for every 1.7 inmates in 2022, one for every 1.9 inmates in 2023 and one for every 2 inmates in 2024'.

Foreigners

Another element highlighted concerns the crime rate among foreigners. "The percentage of foreigners among the inmates, which grew steadily until the mid-2000s, reaching 37.5 per cent of those present at the end of 2007, has been declining ever since, reaching 31.9 per cent on 13 December 2024. And this despite the fact that the presence of foreign nationals in our country has increased enormously since 2007'.

Labour, vocational training and education

On the other hand, the number of persons working in the detention facilities employed by the prison itself grows slightly. From 16,305 persons detained on 30 June 2023 to 17,096 on the same date in 2024.

"There was a significant increase in those working for other employers, from 2,848 on 30 June 2023 to 3,144 on 30 June 2024. Both semi-liberated persons (+84) and persons in art. 21 (+117) grew, as well as the number of persons in prison working for private employers, whether these are social cooperatives (+62) or for-profit companies (+29). However, the number of those working for the latter remains very low. On 30 June 2024, there were only 213 inmates working for traditional private enterprises, while there were 899 inmates working for social cooperatives".

The number of people involved in education is also growing. There were 19,372 in the 2022- 2023 school year, and 3,946 promoted in the 2023-2024 school year.

Suicides and Critical Events

Then the question of critical events and suicides: 'According to Ristretti Orizzonti, 88 prisoners have taken their own lives since the beginning of 2024,' write the Antigone volunteers. 'Never had such a high number been recorded, even surpassing the tragic record of 2022, which, with 84 cases, had been the year with the most prison suicides ever. In addition to suicides, 2024 was in general the year with the highest number of deaths. There have been 243 since the beginning of January'.

The appeals

From the Antigone leaders also an appeal to say no to the 'security bill and the crime of prison revolt' and another no 'to opening Italian prisons in Albania'.