Introduction

The Antigone Association, active since 1991, plays a central role in monitoring detention conditions and protecting human rights within the Italian criminal and penitentiary system. With the publication of the mid-year 2025 report, Antigone seeks to denounce and confirm the seriousness of the situation in prisons, already widely documented in the annual report Senza respiro, published in the same year.

This report aims to provide an updated summary of the most significant data and emerging critical issues just a few months after the annual report, with particular focus on structural problems: chronic overcrowding, degrading living conditions, deficiencies in healthcare and psychiatric services, the crisis in the juvenile justice system, the increase in suicides and self-harming behaviour, and the ineffectiveness of government measures adopted to address these emergencies. Through the mid-year report, Antigone reiterates the need for urgent and structural intervention that restores centrality to fundamental rights and the dignity of detainees, essential elements for a penitentiary system compliant with the principles of a democracy.

Living Conditions in Prisons

In june 2025, there were 62,728 people in detention, of whom 4.4% were women and 31.6% were foreign nationals. The actual capacity, net of temporarily unavailable places, was 46,717, resulting in a national overcrowding rate of 134.3%. In 62 penitentiary institutions, overcrowding exceeded 150%, and in 8 cases even reached 190%, while only 31 institutions were not overcrowded. Among the most severe situations, the female section of Milan San Vittore remains particularly critical, with an overcrowding rate of 236%, up from 220% recorded in the 2025 annual report. Other highly overcrowded institutions include Foggia (214%), the male section of Milan San Vittore (213%), Lodi (205%), Brescia Canton Monbello (203%), Lucca (200%), Udine (194%) and Rome Regina Coeli (191%).

Regarding official detention places, on 30 june 2024 there were 51,234 places, which increased to 51,276 a year later, an increase of just 42 units. However, over the same period, unavailable places rose from 4,123 (17 june 2024) to 4,559 (30 june 2025), effectively resulting in a net reduction of 394 places.

A further critical element emerges from the 86 visits carried out by Antigone over the past 12 months: in 35.3% of institutions, the minimum standard of 3 square metres of usable space per detainee was not respected, up from 28.3% in 2023. However, there is a significant discrepancy in the data: according to the National Ombudsman, as of 30 may 2025 only 10 people were housed in less than 3 square metres each, calculating space using the Department of Prison Administration’s Information Application on Space/Prisoners (ASD), which excludes only bathrooms from the calculation. The European Court of Human Rights and the Italian Court of Cassation (SSUU 6551/2021), however, take a different view, holding that fixed furniture, such as bunk beds and lockers, must also be deducted when assessing space.

Extreme heat has further exacerbated difficulties: in Milan, where temperatures reached very high levels, detainees could purchase a fan at their own expense, with a maximum of two fans per cell allowed. Similar situations occurred in Padua and Rome, where at the Regina Coeli prison fans were installed in the corridors of some wings: a solution that only marginally alleviated the problem. At the same institution, running water is available only at certain times of the day, worsening already precarious hygiene conditions. Outdoor time, which could provide some relief, is often ineffective. Article 10 of the Prison Regulations provides for four hours outdoors, but in practice these hours are granted during the hottest part of the day and not to all detainees. As of 30 may 2025, 60.3% of the prison population was under closed custody, spending most of their time in overcrowded cells with inadequate ventilation.

The Juvenile Penitentiary System

As of 15 june 2025, there were 586 young detainees in the 17 Juvenile Detention Centres in Italy, of whom 23 were girls, in addition to the juvenile section within the adult prison of Dozza in Bologna. This represents a significant increase compared to 2022, when the number of minor and young adult detainees was 392.

Overcrowding affects 8 out of the 17 Juvenile Detention Centres. Visits conducted by Antigone revealed extremely degraded conditions: mattresses on the floor, cells locked for most of the day, a lack of meaningful activities – including educational programmes – and frequent violations of the legally mandated hours of outdoor time. Particularly concerning is the high use of psychotropic medication.

The increase in detained minors is closely linked to the implementation of the Caivano Decree. The actual numbers would be even higher if many young offenders, who could remain in Juvenile Detention Centres until the age of 25, were not transferred to adult prisons upon reaching adulthood, interrupting already fragile educational pathways.

Of the 586 young detainees, 355 (over 60%) are minors: 53 are under 15 years old, and 302 are aged 16 to 17. 63.5% of detainees are still awaiting a final court verdict. Foreign nationals number 275, accounting for 46.9% of the total; of these, 76% come from North Africa, mainly unaccompanied minors.

The severity of the situation has prompted numerous organisations and several Ombudsmen for the rights of detainees to support an urgent appeal promoted by Antigone, together with Libera and Defence for Children Italy, to denounce the alarming conditions in juvenile detention centres.

Protests, Self-Harm, and Suicides

As of 25 july 2025, 45 suicides had been recorded in Italian penitentiary institutions since the beginning of the year: among the deceased, two were women and 22 were foreign nationals. Many of these incidents occurred during particularly vulnerable periods, such as entry into prison or at the end of a sentence.

At least five of those who took their own lives suffered from mental disorders, three had a history of substance abuse, and twelve were homeless. The institution with the highest number of deaths is the Cagliari Prison, with three cases since the start of the year. Following this, the prisons in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (ME), Florence Sollicciano, Frosinone, Modena, Naples Poggioreale, Paola (CS), and Verona each recorded two suicides.

According to Antigone’s data, almost 70% of suicides occurred within closed-security sections, confirming the severe negative impact of restrictions on outdoor time. In at least four cases, individuals were in solitary confinement, in another four they were in the “new arrivals” section, and three suicides occurred in sections regulated by Article 32 of the Executive Regulations of the Penitentiary System, reserved for prisoners considered the most difficult to manage. Two other cases involved units dedicated to mental health care, and one involved a section for “mentally disabled” inmates.

In addition to suicides, self-harm is also on the rise: over the past year, Antigone’s Observatory recorded an average of 22.3 self-harming acts per 100 detainees (compared to 17.4 in 2024) and 3.2 suicide attempts per 100 detainees (up from 2.3 the previous year). This is accompanied by a worrying increase in the use of the disciplinary sanction of isolation, which has risen by 5.5 points per 100 detainees.

During the 86 visits carried out over the last twelve months, Antigone also observed a rise in psychiatric problems and the use of medication. 14.2% of detainees have a severe psychiatric diagnosis, 21.7% regularly take mood stabilisers, antipsychotics, or antidepressants, and 45.1% use sedatives or hypnotics. All of these percentages have increased compared to previous years. Finally, people with substance addictions represent approximately 22% of the prison population.

Prison Staff

As of 31 may 2025, the personnel of the Penitentiary Police showed a shortfall of 8.7% compared to the number of positions planned. The current ratio of detainees to officers stands at 2 detainees per officer, higher than the expected 1.5. At the regional level, this ratio varies between 1.2 and 2.5 detainees per officer, highlighting significant territorial disparities.

Regarding educators, according to the Ministry’s transparency records updated to 31 may 2025, there were 935 staff members present (28 fewer than reported in the 2025 Report), against 1,040 positions planned in the organisational chart. The national average number of detainees assigned to each educator is 66.7.

The managerial staff, as of 29 may 2025, consists of 246 members out of a planned 350, with a shortfall of 104 directors or deputy directors.

Psychiatric and psychological staff are available for 7.4 and 20.4 hours per week per 100 detainees, respectively – a level clearly insufficient to meet the needs of the prison population.

Finally, there is a critical shortage in healthcare provision: daily medical coverage is not guaranteed in 29 of the 86 prisons visited by Antigone over the past year, highlighting serious gaps in continuous care for detainees.

Judicial Appeals and Alternatives to Detention

As of 15 june 2025, the Offices for External Penal Execution were responsible for 100,639 people, approximately 10,000 more than in 2024. Of these, 49,736 were serving an alternative to detention, the most common being probation under social services supervision.

Despite the growth of community and alternative measures, their application remains significantly underutilised compared to their potential. As of 30 june 2025, there were 23,970 detainees with less than three years of remaining sentence, confirming that the use of alternatives is still limited. According to data from the National Council for Economics and Labour, the recidivism rate is estimated at 68.7%, but it can drop to 2% for prisoners who have had opportunities for professional reintegration, highlighting the importance of rehabilitation measures. As of 31 december 2021, the latest available data, only 38% of detainees were serving their first sentence, while the remaining 62% had prior experiences of incarceration, with 18% having served five or more prison terms.

Government Policies and Institutional Responses

Antigone notes that the problem of prison overcrowding is closely linked to the introduction of government measures that have toughened sentences, including the recent Security Decree, the Caivano Decree, the Cutro Decree, and the Rave Decree.

Another significant measure was approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 july, with the presentation of a draft law introducing home detention in therapeutic communities for prisoners with drug or alcohol dependencies and a remaining sentence of up to eight years. This measure complements the already existing probation system for the same categories of detainees, which is, however, limited to sentences with less than six years remaining. Antigone emphasises, however, that the only real solution to the large number of substance-dependent prisoners remains the decriminalisation of drug use.

Regarding the expansion of phone calls allowed to detainees, the association points out that this is not a new initiative. Finally, the Prison Decree, designed to counter overcrowding, improve living conditions, and strengthen social reintegration pathways, has proven slow in its implementation. The decree provides for the establishment, within the Ministry of Justice, of a list of residential facilities suitable for reception and social reintegration, to be adopted within six months of the law’s enactment. By july 2025, however, this list had not yet been approved. Similarly, the prison construction project, entrusted to the Special Commissioner established by the same conversion law, is proceeding at a notably slow pace.

Conclusions

In light of the data on overcrowding, staff shortages, and the difficulties in applying alternative measures, Antigone urgently calls for structural interventions and more effective strategies to improve conditions in the Italian penitentiary system. Key requests include:

• Greater opportunities for telephone and video contact with the outside world, to support family and social ties;
• Increased use of digital technologies to support education, training, and work activities for detainees;
• A drastic reduction in the use of isolation as a disciplinary tool, ensuring less punitive and more humane treatment;
• Prevention of abuse, with effective mechanisms for oversight and transparency;
• Promotion of dynamic surveillance and a penitentiary system centred on respect for human dignity, fostering reintegration pathways and reducing recidivism.