In 2021, the prison of Taranto, located in the South Italian region Apulia, was the most overcrowded facility in Italy. The prison was occupied at 196.4 percent of its capacity, as the facility has a capacity of 307 inmates, while the occupancy level was at 603 inmates. The second most overcrowded prison in the country was situated in Brescia, in Lombardy. This prison has a capacity of 186 individuals, but as of February 2021 there were 357 prisoners.

High security regime in Italy is an incarceration regime meant for inmates classified as highly dangerous. This classification is solely based on the type of crime perpetuated. There are three different levels of high security regime. The second one, known in Italian as Alta Sicurezza 2, hosts prisoners who committed terrorism-related crimes. As of December 2020, there were 79 people detained in Alta Sicurezza 2 across the whole Italian territory. Around 58 percent of them were incarcerated for criminal activities related to international Islamic extremist terrorism, while another 40.5 percent committed crimes pertaining to domestic terrorism.

In 2022, there were roughly 109 prisoners held in facilities in Italy every 100 available places. Between 2014 and 2019, prison overcrowding in Italy grew constantly. In 2020, it decreased by about 15 percentage points. Indeed, the number of detainees in 2020 experienced a decrease. During the coronavirus crisis, some prisoners were released under supervision in order to reduce overcrowding and thus the risk of infections.

As of October 2024, the operational capacity of Italian prisons was about 51,100 inmates. However, there were roughly 62,100 prisoners incarcerated in all Italian penal institutions, over 11,000 more than the regulatory capacity. Indeed, most Italian regions were affected by the overpopulation of jails. Prison population in Italy Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the number of inmates in Italian jails remained rather stable. In the period between 2000 and 2019, the lowest prison population was registered in 2006, whereas the highest number of inmates in custody was reported in 2010. However, the number of detainees in 2020 experienced a decrease. During the coronavirus emergency, certain prisoners were released under supervision in order to reduce overcrowding. Perception of prison overpopulation Italians are aware that the number of inmates in the country’s prisons exceeds the operational capacity. However, in 2018 Italian respondents believed that the penal institutions in their country were more overcrowded than they actually were.

As of July 2023, the number of prisoners in Italy was 57,749 inmates. Between 2000 and 2019, Italy's prison population increased, while it experienced a decrease in 2020 and 2021. In 2010, the population of prisoners in custody reached its peak at 68,000 inmates, whereas by the end of 2019, the number of inmates amounted to 60,800 individuals. During the coronavirus emergency, Italy adopted a decree for the supervised release of certain prisoners in order to reduce overcrowding. Thus, the number of detainees in the last year experienced a decrease.

Demography of incarcerated population

Among prisoners, two groups stand out for age and educational level. Data related to the age of people in jail show that individuals between 50 and 59 years old made up the largest group of the prison population (ten thousand inmates). Furthermore, a glance at their educational background reveals that 19 thousand individuals held a lower secondary school degree. Both groups represented a significant part of the incarcerated population.

Overcrowded prisons and tough conditions

Prison overcrowding is a worldwide phenomenon. Prison systems in more than one hundred countries operate at over double their capacities. Likewise, several prisons in Italy hold more prisoners than the facilities can accommodate. In 2019, a jail in the South Italian region Molise was rated the most overcrowded prison in the country, which was occupied at 195 percent of designed prison capacity. In addition to overcrowding, a further problem of the Italian prison system concerns the tough conditions for mafia prisoners. In October 2019, the European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled that the Italian prison system for mafia inmates must be reviewed, as the conditions in which they are serving their life term sentence violate their human rights.

As of July 2023, the Italian region with the highest number of prisoners was Lombardy. Its prison population amounted to about 8,370, approximately 2,200 individuals over the regional facilities’ capacity. Lombardy, however, was also the most populated Italian region by far.

Prisons overcrowding in Italy

According to the latest data, the current population in confinement across the whole Italian territory amounts to 53.7 thousand inmates, whereas the operational capacity is limited to 50.5 thousand. Zooming in, the situation in some prisons is rather dramatic, with a number of facilities in the country hosting almost twice the inmates their capacity would allow. In particular, the prison of Taranto, located in the South Italian region Apulia, was the most overcrowded one as of the beginning of 2021.

Trends in the prison population

The number of prisoners in Italy fluctuated between 2000 and 2021, peaking in 2010 at almost 68 thousand inmates. However, the number of inmates decreased in 2020 and 2021. Due to the coronavirus crisis, certain prisoners were released under supervision in order to reduce overcrowding and decrease the risk of infections. Among the adult prison population in 2019, the most common reasons for incarceration were crimes related to the use and illegal dealing of drugs and psychotropic substances.

As of January 2021, alternative measures to imprisonment were applied to some ** thousand inmates in Italy. The most common alternative was probation in social services, with **** thousand individuals. In addition, over ** thousand inmates were in house arrest as of January 2021.

Alternative to imprisonments are typically chosen for rehabilitation purposes and to reduce overcrowding. Indeed, prison overcrowding is a serious concern in the country, with some of the facilities recording an overcrowding rate of more than *** percent.

According to data, the number of incarcerated mothers was the highest in Apulia and in Lombardy.

Between 2000 and 2021, the number of prisoners in Italy generally increased. However, during the coronavirus emergency, Italy adopted a decree for the supervised release of certain prisoners in order to reduce overcrowding. Thus, the number of detainees in 2020 and 2021 experienced a decrease.