Time In Rome
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According to the Council of Europe's annual Space report, Italy has the worst jail overcrowding problems and the largest number of prisoners over the age of 65 in Europe.
The average period of custody in Europe is 11 months, while it is 18 months in Italy. Not at all. In countries with more than one million people, our country always has the greatest percentage of convicts over the age of 65. Let's start with the Space report, which is the Council of Europe's yearly criminal data on the jail population, which was released last Tuesday.
Between January 2021 and January 2022, the termination of lockdown measures to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak resulted in a rebound impact in incarceration rates in several European nations: the median detention rate climbed by 2.3% in countries with more than one million residents.
Bulgaria's prison administration (-8%), Estonia's (-6.3%), and Germany's (-5.5%) were the only three to show a substantial fall in imprisonment rates. But what about Italy? The Space report is unequivocal: Table 9 lists the nations with a jail density of more than 100 convicts per 100 people. Seven nations, marked in red, have significant overcrowding, with rates of more than 105 convicts per 100 available places.
The remaining administrations, represented in green, did not report overcrowding, although some are borderline. Among those with the most severe overcrowding is Italy.
According to the Council of Europe research, the average age of detainees in European jails on 31 January 2022 is 38 years. The average age of the jail population in nations with more than one million people ranges from 31 to 44 years. Bulgaria (31 years), Denmark (34) and France (34.5 years) have the lowest average ages, while Georgia (44), Italy (42), Portugal (41), Estonia (40), and Spain (40) have the oldest. Approximately 16.5% of convicts are 50 or older, while 3% are 65 or older.
In countries with over one million inhabitants, the highest percentages of prisoners aged 50 or over are found in Italy (28%), the Autonomous Community of Spain (25%), Portugal (24%) and Norway (24%). Meanwhile, the highest proportions of prisoners aged 65 or over are found in Italy.
However, the Space study highlights another intriguing feature. The number of inmates aged 50 and above is tied to the overall structure of the prison population, whereas the proportion of inmates aged 65 and up is related to the presence of certain categories of criminals. This notion is backed by the fact that Italy, Portugal, and Spain have the largest proportion of convicts aged 50 and higher, as well as the highest median age of the prison population. Furthermore, these nations have high average periods of incarceration.
The average period of incarceration in Europe is 11 months, but it is 18 months in Italy, 20.5 months in Spain, and over 31 months in Portugal, which is the greatest length of custody in Europe. The study also emphasizes that in Italy, a considerable fraction of convicts aged 65 and up are life-condemned members of organized crime, and it is reasonable to infer that Serbia has a comparably big number of prisoners sentenced for war crimes. Bulgaria, which has the youngest median age among inmates yet 5.6% of them are 65 or older, is a prominent example of the particular profile of convicts aged 65 or over in respect to the overall age structure of the population.
The research also emphasizes the variation of life sentences across Council of Europe nations. An convict condemned to life in prison in Switzerland is eligible for release after 10 or 15 years, depending on the circumstances. Denmark (12 years), Germany (15 years), Sweden (10 years, however the penalty can be converted to a fixed term after 10 years), Italy (21 or 26 years), France (18-22 years), Spain (25 or 35 years old), and Belgium (15, 19 or 23 years old) all have similar laws. It should be emphasized that Italy is one of the countries with tougher life sentences.
The research also highlights the problem of the times of justice, which is reflected in the jail population. It is predicted that 30% of the 54,372 detainees assessed at the end of January 2022 are not serving a final sentence and remain in their cells awaiting third-degree judgement. This indicates that the average length of stay in jail is among the longest. People spend an average of 18 months in jail before learning whether they will be freed or have their sentences extended by a judicial judgment.
The problem of overcrowding is underlined at the general level of the nations of the Council of Europe in the Space report. The overall number of inmates in Europe declined in the preceding year, from January 2020 to January 2021, due to a fall in street crime as a result of mobility restrictions during the pandemic, a slowness in legal processes, and the adoption of release in some nations.
According to Professor Marcelo Aebi, head of the University of Lausanne's Space research division, "over the last 12 years, the average detention rate in Europe has decreased slowly but steadily." As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown measures, this reduction accelerated in 2020. As a result, the 2022 rise indicates a return to relative normalcy in social life and the operation of European criminal justice systems. Despite this rise, the European incarceration rate in 2022 is still lower than it was before the epidemic in early 2020.
However, as the data shows, Italy is severely overcrowded. A 52-year-old woman held in Turin's Lorusso and Cotugno jail committed herself inside her cell on Tuesday, using a homemade noose constructed from one's own clothing and attached to the lavatory bars. When the covid situation ended, the deflationary measures, which were not far-reaching, were no longer renewed. We recall the recent "girls of Turin" petition, signed by 114 Le Vallette convicts, requesting that the Giachetti proposal on exceptional early release be considered.
This is not a present. It benefits inmates who demonstrate that they have engaged in re-education activities. This measure was just temporary. In actuality, it was in effect for two years following the decree's entrance into force, i.e. between December 24, 2013 and December 23, 2015. It seems reasonable to propose it again now, especially in light of the Council of Europe findings. A metric that serves two functions. A deflationary, since overpopulation has surely resumed. The other is recompense, which serves as a form of refreshment for the convicts. A meager recompense for all they endured throughout the pandemic's dreadful and catastrophic years.
Source: Ildubbio News