Salerno prison inspected by the FSA Cnpp-Spp union: "Overcrowding and insufficient staffing."

Today at the Salerno Prison, the FSA Cnpp-Spp union highlighted an alarming picture of overcrowding and staffing shortages, underlining how the situation is worsening and how the working conditions of the Penitentiary Police require urgent intervention from the.

A situation described as "bittersweet," with evident critical issues and a hope for the future. This is the picture that emerges from the inspection visit conducted today at the Salerno Prison by the leaders of the Fsa Cnpp-Spp union, including national secretary Gina Rescigno, regional secretary Fabio Montalbetti, and union leaders Roberto Capece and Annalisa Corrado. The aim was to firsthand verify the logistical and operational conditions under which the Penitentiary Police operate in the city prison.

"What we found is unfortunately common across most institutions in Campania and Italy," union representatives explain, describing a chronic staff shortage coupled with increasingly severe overcrowding. "Over the past three years, the situation has progressively worsened." The numbers paint a picture of what they call alarming: out of 376 regulated places, there are 612 inmates. "That's almost 180 more people than a few years ago, the equivalent of a medium-sized prison."

Staffing is not growing in line with the growing prison population, and according to the union, the distribution of officers across the various units also appears questionable. "More inmates means more rights to be guaranteed, from phone calls to interviews to video calls, but all of this puts a strain on an already strained force," Rescigno and Montalbetti emphasize. "Added to this is a worrying increase in verbal and physical assaults, a trend unprecedented in recent history."

Logistical conditions are also challenging. "Overcrowding and a lack of funding make it difficult to fully implement the safety regulations set forth in Decree 81," union leaders note. "There's talk of increasing prison capacity, but not of improving the quality of life within the institutions. If we don't act quickly, there's only one risk: collapse."

One hope, however, remains. "We are extending our support to the new director," the union states. "It will not be an easy task, but we are confident that, also through institutional collaboration, which we are ready to guarantee, the situation can be reversed." The final appeal is addressed to the Government: "We need to look not only outside the prison, but also inside, where men and women in uniform continue to serve the state in increasingly difficult conditions, in Salerno and throughout the rest of Italy."