By Helena Reinders
For years, Italy has been struggling with overcrowded prisons. This is illustrated by the fact that the country’s average prison population is 140% compared to their capabilities, with some prisons’ populations reaching as high as 268% (Pezzuti, 2015). What can the root causes of this overpopulation be, and what are its effects?
Background
As early as 1980, academics already concluded that overcrowded prisons tend to hold less correctional effectiveness, as well as that they result in more violence among inmates (Farrington & Nuttall, 1980). As can be seen in academic literature from that time, it was proven that the overpopulation of many prisons globally led to high stress, psychological impairment, and high mortality rates among inmates (Farrington & Nuttall, 1980).
Unfortunately, overcrowding is still a problem, affecting about 20% of the world’s total prison population (Ismail, Woodall, & De Viggiani, 2016). These issues can be seen in African and South American countries such as Nigeria, Brazil, and Peru are dealing with higher death rates in their prisons when compared with overall prison statistics, partly due to this systematic issue (Zevallos, 2016; Makinde, Björkqvist, & Österman, 2016; Torrijo, 2019). However, some (former) EU countries like the United Kingdom and Italy have also struggled with overcrowded prisons over the years (Davies, 2004; Graziani, 2018).
While the UK has made major improvements over the past decade, Italy is still struggling with overcrowded prisons to this day, despite numerous efforts to better inmates’ circumstances and the mental and physical effects these issues can have (Graziani, 2018). Even after having been condemned by The Council of Europe in 2013 (Garro & Cirami, 2017) and having been sued by seven former inmates (Favuzza, 2017), the Italian government cannot seem to be able to better inmates’ conditions. All factors considered, the Italian state has thus arguably been violating prisoners’ fundamental human rights, such as the article ensuring freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment, and ensuring equality in dignity (Garro & Cirami, 2017).
Root causes for overpopulation
So, Why is it that Italy’s prison population is so much higher than its capacity? Pezzuti (2015) renders this back to two root causes: precautionary incarceration and a large percentage of foreign inmates – two causes that are oftentimes connected.
The first is the disproportionate percentage of foreigners in their prison system. Reaching a peak in 2007 at 37% (Anastasia, 2015), of the total number of incarcerated individuals 35.6% do not hold Italian citizenship (Pezzuti, 2015); significantly higher than the European average of 20% (Anastasia, 2015). There are multiple speculations around the reasons for this, but the most well-proven cause has been that many foreign prisoners are incarcerated prior and/or during their trial, since they lack permanent housing where they can reside while awaiting their trial (Pezzuti, 2015).
This, in turn, ties in with the second root cause of Italian prison overcrowding: precautionary incarceration. According to Italian law, those without permanent housing where they can stay in house arrest have to be incarcerated while awaiting their trial. This does not only affect foreigners, but also many nationals from low-income households (Pezzuti, 2015).
Effects of overcrowding
The strain the incarceration system in Italy is experiencing due to the overcrowding of their prisons has its effects on both the inmates and those working for the system. One example of this is that many foreigners, upon arrest and incarceration, experience a language barrier. As a result, they do not get sufficient legal or consular support, nor health or psychiatric care (Pezzuti, 2015). It also puts an extra strain on staff, who oftentimes struggle with the communication with prisoners and their families.
As was briefly mentioned before, overcrowding of prisons can also lead to an increase in violence amongst inmates (Graziani, 2018). As the prisoners have limited or no access to the facilities which should help them disengage from violent behaviour, they turn to each other to voice their discontent. On top of this, they also turn violent towards overworked prison staff, causing a grim atmosphere in the prisons.
Other results of overcrowding in prisons include, but are not limited to, there being no appropriate accommodation, a lack of timely health care, and limited to no access to rehabilitation programs and educational or vocational activities (Graziani, 2018). Many of these effects need to be studied in more detail, but it is clear that the Italian incarceration system as it is does not suffice and is undermining fundamental human rights.
COVID-19
Despite the Italian state working towards a better incarceration system and safer prisons, the COVID-19 pandemic has left the system shaken to its core. At the beginning of the first wave in March, 2020, the Italian government announced regulations to contain the spread of COVID-19 in prisons (Cingolani, Caraceni, Cannovo, & Fedeli, 2020). The regulation which received the worst response was one which aimed for progressive isolation from the external world. This meant that work outside of the prison was suspended for prisoners, as well as treatment activities involving or requiring contact with the external community (Cingolani, Caraceni, Cannovo, & Fedeli, 2020). This measure led to several revolts in prisons where inmates were afraid they would no longer be able to receive visitors. Although the revolts were managed, the measure did not prevent the entrance of COVID-19 into Italian prisons (Cingolani, Caraceni, Cannovo, & Fedeli, 2020).
Due to the overpopulation in prisons, the virus spread quickly. Between the beginning of March and April 9, 2020, 58 prisoners and 178 penitentiary police officers have tested positive for the virus, and one inmate has died as a result of the virus (Cingolani, Caraceni, Cannovo, & Fedeli, 2020). Flash forward, and on 8 November, 2020, 1,265 guards and prisoners tested positive for the virus (Amante, 2020). This goes to show that the problem of overcrowded prisons gives more negative effects than one could possibly anticipate.
About the illustration
“When I saw Helena’s title I immediately thought of the quadron of the Prisoner’s Dilemma we were shown in one of the lectures from Safety and Security. So I drew some boxes to match the quadron. Afterwards, I wanted to use two dots or bubbles to signify the little prisoners. I chose the colours red and blue for the classic contrast. Then the ideas of the masks of tragedy and comedy from theatre came to mind. So, I adapted them to match the facial expressions of sad/bitter, happy, and silent. In the end, the faces ended up looking like kabuki masks. Overall, I am quite happy with this illustration.” – Chira Tudoran
Edited by Juni Moltubak
Artwork by Chira Tudoran
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