Fuorni Prison, Ciambriello: “Overcrowding is the main problem”

Salerno – “Overcrowding is the first problem that emerges from my visit to the prison Get out“. This was stated by Samuele Ciambriello, Campania guarantor of people subjected to restrictive measures of personal freedom, at the end of the inspection in the Salerno prison.

Welcomed by director Gabriella Niccoli and deputy director Belen Suozzo, Ciambriello underlined the need to strengthen and stabilize psychological and social support figures. “In 2023, there was one suicide, 11 suicide attempts, hunger strikes and numerous acts of self-harm,” he recalled, expressing solidarity with the officer attacked yesterday by an inmate.

The institute currently houses 503 men and 57 women, compared to a regulatory capacity of 376 places, a figure that highlights the serious problem of overcrowding. "It is essential to address the issue of mental health in Campania prisons - added Ciambriello -. We need to open new facilities such as the psychiatric unit in the Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi prison, in the Benevento prison and a new Rems in Campania, already planned by the Regional Council".

The guarantor also reiterated the need to strengthen mental health departments, SerDs and inclusion policies for prisoners with psychiatric disorders, to prevent prison from becoming the only solution.

“Here too,” he stressed, “I have met people with sentences of less than a year. At the national level, there are 8.000 prisoners in this condition, of which 902 in Campania, without impeding crimes. A deflationary measure by the Government is urgent. We need a pardon.”