Poggioreale Prison: 18 cell phones found, SAPPE raises alarm over security and staffing shortages.

Naples – A new incident has brought the issue of security in Campania's prisons to the fore. During a routine search of the Naples Poggioreale prison, Penitentiary Police officers found 18 cell phones, carefully hidden in one of the prison wards.

The news was announced by Raffaele Serra, regional deputy secretary of SAPPE (Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police), who described it as a "significant discovery" and further evidence of the professionalism and dedication of the staff. "The officers," Serra stated, "work in increasingly difficult conditions, including staff shortages, inadequate equipment, and chronic overcrowding, which makes security management increasingly challenging every day."

A widespread problem: 5.000 phones seized in three years

SAPPE Secretary General Donato Capece noted that between 2022 and 2024, over 4.900 cell phones were seized in Italian penitentiaries.
"These are sobering numbers," Capece emphasized. "We can no longer allow incidents like this to become the norm. The safety of staff, inmates, and the community is at risk."

The union calls for urgent and concrete action, urging the Naples Regional Penitentiary Administration Office and the Ministry of Justice to adopt extraordinary measures to block the illicit trafficking of telephones, drugs, and other prohibited items.

The proposals: shielding, anti-drone technologies and more staff

SAPPE's demands include shielding prison facilities to prevent internet communications and installing systems to block drone flights, which are often used to smuggle phones or drugs to inmates.
But the emergency, according to union representatives, is also human and organizational: there is a staff shortage, and those on duty are subjected to grueling shifts.

“Every day,” Serra explains, “the officers ensure order and security with an extraordinary sense of duty, but without sufficient resources and personnel, the system risks collapse.”

Poggioreale, symbol of a system in trouble

Poggioreale prison, with an inmate population that often exceeds its regulatory capacity, has for years been a symbol of Italian prison overcrowding.
The presence of cell phones inside cells poses a concrete security risk, enabling illicit communications with the outside world, the management of criminal trafficking, and the planning of violent actions.
Despite frequent checks and seizures, the phenomenon continues to grow, fueled by the lack of adequate technological tools and an obsolete prison structure.
A national emergency
The Poggioreale case is only the latest in a long series of similar incidents recorded throughout Italy.

According to data provided by SAPPE, the trend in cell phone seizures in prisons is expected to increase in 2025, evidence of an increasingly organized and sophisticated trafficking network.
For the union, the response cannot be solely repressive: investments in technology, training, and human resources are needed, as well as a structural reform of the prison system that puts the safety and dignity of officers' work at the center.