This document discusses prison population trends and prison management in major European countries. It finds that Italy has the highest prison occupancy rate at 124.6% of capacity and the second highest rates of deaths and suicides in prison. The document argues that increasing prisoner employment, which is currently very low in Italy, is key to improving conditions and facilitating social reintegration, as work programs have been shown to reduce recidivism rates. It provides some examples of successful job training partnerships between an Italian prison and private companies. Finally, it suggests making prisoner employment compulsory by law to help it become standard practice.

1. The meaning of punishment
One year after the European Court of Human
Rights' sentence of the Torreggiani Case
Rome, May 28th
2014
Vito Gamberale
AIC seminar (Italian Association of Constitutional Lawyers)

2. Prison population Page 3
Good prison management Page 9
Suggestions Page 14
2
Summary

3. 3
Prison population

4. 4
Prison population
– In 2013, the prison population of the major European countries was between
60,000 and 80,000 prisoners.
– In relation to the overall population, England and Spain have the highest
number of prisoners.
Country Prisoners
Prisoners/100K
inhab.
England 84,697 148
France 68,859 103
Spain 66,937 144
Germany 62,632 78
Italy 60,197 100
Data as of 31/03/2014 for IT, FR, SPA, UK; data as of 30/11/13 for Germany
Source: International Centre for Prison Studies

5. 5
Prison population
– In the last decade, the prison population slightly increased in all major
European countries, except for Germany:
+1.0%
CAGR '03-'13
-2.3%
+1.8%
+2.2%
+1.4%
Sources: EUROSTAT and the International Centre for Prison Studies
In 2006, around 27,000
prisoners benefited from
a general pardon
35.000
45.000
55.000
65.000
75.000
85.000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Germania Spagna Francia Italia InghilterraGermany Spain France Italy England

6. 6
Prison population
– In every European country, the prison population consists mainly of people
between the ages of 18 and 50 years old (over 85% of the total population on
average). Around 98% of the population is of working age.
Source: F2i estimates
based on data from the
Council of Europe – Annual
penal statistics
(2012 data)

7. 7
Prison population
– On average, women represent 5% of the prison population, foreigners
account for around 25%. Italy has the highest rate of foreigners (around
34%).
Source: Council of
Europe – Annual
penal statistics
(2012 data)
Italian prisoners
Foreing prisone, non-EU
Foreign prisoners, EU

8. 8
Prison population
– The prisoner employment rate varies considerably across the major European
countries: Germany almost achieved the full employment of the prisoners while in
England the employment rate is not far from zero.
– In Italy, the employment rate (around
24%) is below the average of the
European countries considered (40%).
Around 85% of the employed
prisoners work for the prison
administrations; the few others are
employed by third parties (vs over
40% in France).
– The rate of prisoners working in jails
(intramural jobs) is approximately
86%, i.e. only one prisoner out of
seven is employed outside the prisons
(extramural jobs).
– At the end of 2013, barely over 2,000
prisoners were employed for
extramural jobs (around 3.4% of the
total prison population), allocated as
depicted in the images in this slide:
36%
35%
29%
Semilibertà (in
proprio o aziende
esterne)
Dipendenze
dell'Amministrazione
Penitenziaria
Dipendenze Aziende
esterne
Detention with day
release (self employed
or employed in
external companies)
Employed by the
prison administration
Employed by external
companies
85,0 - 90%
40,5% 39,1%
24,2%
10,6%
0,0%
20,0%
40,0%
60,0%
80,0%
100,0%
Germania Spagna Francia Italia Inghilterra
Average: around 40%
Germany Spain France Italy
England
85-90%
40.5% 39.1%
10.6%
24.2%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

9. 9
Good prison management

10. 10
Good prison management
– When it comes to prison management, Italy is the country with the highest
occupancy rate (one fourth higher than the maximum capacity)...
Country Prisoners Total capacity
Occupancy
rate
England 84,697 75,562 112.1%
France 68,859 57,680 119.4%
Spain 66,937 77,955 85.9%
Germany 62,632 76,556 81.8%
Italy 60,197 48,309 124.6%
Data as of 31/03/2014 for IT, FR, SPA, UK; data as of 30/11/13 for Germany
Source: International Centre for Prison Studies

11. Good prison management
– ...and the second country in Europe for deaths in prison...
– ...and for high suicide rate
0,29%
0,25%
0,22% 0,22%
0,18%
0,00%
0,05%
0,10%
0,15%
0,20%
0,25%
0,30%
0,35%
Spagna Italia Inghilterra Francia Germania
0,13%
0,10%
0,08%
0,07%
0,02%
0,00%
0,02%
0,04%
0,06%
0,08%
0,10%
0,12%
0,14%
Francia Italia Germania Inghilterra Spagna
Source: Council of
Europe – Annual
penal statistics
(2012 data)
11
Spain Italy England France Germany
France Italy Germany England Spain
0.29%
0.22%
0.18%
0.13%
0.25%
0.35%
0.30%
0.25%
0.20%
0.15%
0.10%
0.05%
0%
0.22%
0.14%
0.12%
0.10%
0.08%
0.06%
0.04%
0.02%
0%
0.10%
0.08%
0.07%
0.02%

12. Good prison management
– The overcrowding of the Italian prisons had a negative effect on the the
psycho-physical conditions of prisoners, as proven by the high death and
suicide rate.
– It is evidently necessary to not only operate infrastructural improvements, but
also to develop rehabilitation programmes within the prisons to improve
the prisoners’ conditions and facilitate their social reintegration.
– The work carried out during the imprisonment period proved to be a
particularly ideal reintegration tool: compared to an overall 60% relapse
rate, the average among employed prisoners is about one half of it.
– In particular, the prisoner employment rate should be increased (which is
very low in Italy, as described above) by using work as a major tool for social
reintegration.
12

13. Good prison management
– During my managerial activity I had the opportunity to cooperate with the
Rebibbia Prison to launch two programmes of prisoner reintegration into the
labour system:
– the first project started in 1998, when I was chair of TIM [Italian mobile provider]:
a programme was developed where prisoners helped filing TIM's lease
contracts and utility agreements. The cooperation between TIM and the
Rebibbia Prison continues today with a call centre activity ("Call Center 1254");
– the second project was launched in 2005 in cooperation with Autostrade [the
Italian Highway Company]; it addressed the management of highway violations
by processing plate data recorded by surveillance appliances. This cooperation is
still ongoing today.
– Moreover, Rebibbia has always been a state-of-the-art prison regarding
education and work opportunities for prisoners (in 1985 the first cooperative
companies of prisoners and ex-convicts were founded in Rebibbia).
– Aside from the cooperation activities mentioned above, further projects were
launched in this prison, such as the digitalisation action of 140,000 historical
records of the Supervisory Court in Rome, the outsourcing of the "Bambin
Gesù" Hospital reservation services, waste treatment (besides carpentry and
woodwork laboratories), the production of metal fixtures.
13

14. 14
Suggestions

15. Suggestions
15
– The prisoners' successful intra- and extramural work activities should
progress from the development stage to standard practice in the Italian
prison system.
– To this end, the social reintegration of prisoners through work shouldn't
happen on a voluntary basis, but should be made compulsory under the law.
– For example, hiring prisoners could be made mandatory for public and
private companies, as it already happens for the weakest work categories
(the handicapped, political refugees, etc.).
– To this end, it could be mandatory for companies to hire prisoners above a
specific number of employees, as it happens today for "protected job
categories". More specifically:
– above a first threshold of employees (e.g. 15-35 people), the companies should
be able to choose between hiring a prisoner (or a political refugee) or a worker of
a protected job category;
– above a further limit, the company should then hire an employee taken from a
different category than the one from the first threshold.