Italian jails are
packed: the nation has 65,000 prisoners, yet it can house only 40,000.
On
January 13, the Italian government declared a state of emergency in Italian
prisons. In response, Justice minister Angelino Alfano presented a four-point
plan to address the years-long problem, saying ‘the plan is without precedent
in the history of this Republic.’
First
on the agenda is the construction of 47 new prisons, estimated to cost 600
million euro, to increase the correctional system’s capacity to over 80,000 by
2012.
In the meantime,
Alfano proposed new legislation that could allow home-based detention for
inmates with less than one year left to serve, and probation coupled with
community service for those sentenced to less than three years.
Many believe that
the conditions caused by overcrowding have contributed to a spike in suicides among
prisoners. There were 71 suicides in 2009 and 6 in the first 15 days of 2010
alone.
