Italy's prison system is
secure, despite the escape on Sunday of two inmates from Rome's
Rebibbia jail, said Santi Conosolo, head of the prisons
administration, on Monday.
"An excess of alarm for the escape of two inmates mustn't
create fear in the collective; our institutions are secure,"
Consolo said.
"I realize that there's the need for resources and
personnel and that modern alarm systems must be strengthened to
avoid escapes," he said.
A massive manhunt is underway to find the two Rebibbia
escapees, Romanian former cellmates Catalin Ciobanu, 33, and
Mihai Florin Diaconescu, 28.
Police are searching train and bus stations Monday after
spending Sunday night questioning the inmates' relatives and
searching their homes.
On Sunday the inmates sawed window bars from the warehouse
where they were permitted to work and descended the exterior
prison wall using tied-together sheets to escape on foot.
Prison guards' union Sappe said at the time of the escape
from the new annex of the prison at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday,
there were only two guards on duty for 150 inmates and the alarm
system wasn't working.
However, on Monday Consolo said a preliminary report showed
there were nine guards on duty for 300 inmates in the building
where the escape took place.
He said the department is investigating why the alarms
didn't go off.
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