Govt has tripled investment in jails says Nordio

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 29 - Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said Monday that the government has tripled investments in Italy's jails as part of its extraordinary plan for the penal system amid concern about overcrowding and a high number of suicides among inmates.
    "In 2024 alone, we have allocated an additional 10.5 million euros, more than tripling the original budget of 4.4 million euros, for a total allocation of 14.9 million euros," he said.
    "As President (Sergio) Mattarella recently reminded us, prison cannot be the place where all hope is lost, it must not be turned into a criminal gymnasium; that is why the prison world as a whole has been a very high priority since we took office.
    "We have done a lot and we still have a lot to do.
    "The attention and commitment of all of us is at a maximum.
    "The government has strengthened measures for prison personnel".
    Penitentiary police union UILPA said at the weekend that the suicide of a 27-year-old inmate in Prato jail has taken the total number in Italy's prisons up to 60 so far this year.
    The union said six prison guards have taken their own lives too.
    Prison-rights association Antigone said in a report released last week that Italy's jails "are exploding" following a series of recent disturbances linked to overcrowding, a problem that especially acute during the heatwaves the country has been having.
    The report said the official overcrowding rate at Italy's prisons of around 120% is too low because it fails to account for the over 4,000 places that are not currently available.
    It said the real overcrowding rate is over 130%, with the nation's jails holding 14,000 more inmates than the number they have places for.
    Antigone said the prisons had 61,480 inmates on June 30, compared to an official capacity of 51,234. (ANSA).