Aversa – An afternoon of ordinary madness turned into a wartime event inside the Aversa Prison. The facility was the scene of a violent attack that once again saw Penitentiary Police personnel pay the ultimate price in terms of physical safety.
The final toll is heavy: six officers were forced to undergo hospital treatment while trying to contain an inmate suffering from severe psychomotor agitation.
The escalation of violence
The incident occurred late yesterday afternoon. According to the reconstruction, an inmate suffering from serious psychiatric conditions committed acts of self-harm by swallowing batteries. The security staff intervened immediately, attempting to calm the man down while awaiting the doctor on duty for the necessary treatment.
However, the situation quickly escalated: the inmate went berserk, lashing out at the officers who were trying to restrain him. The fight was brutal, and six Penitentiary Police officers suffered such bruises and trauma that they had to be rushed to the emergency room for assessment and treatment.
OSAPP accuses: "Unsuitable structure"
The incident was reported by Vincenzo Palmieri, regional secretary of OSAPP (Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police), who points the finger at the assignment of problematic individuals to unequipped facilities.
"The report was truly harsh," Palmieri declared, expressing solidarity with his injured colleagues. The union representative emphasized that the attack was not an isolated incident, but the foreseeable consequence of a management system the union has long contested. "As OSAPP, we have repeatedly urged the Regional Superintendent and the DAP leadership not to assign individuals with this profile to the Norman facility. A prison is structurally and functionally unsuitable for housing people with mental illnesses."
The request for transfers to the REMS
The crux of the protest concerns the allocation of psychiatric inmates. According to OSAPP, these individuals require specific care that can only be provided in dedicated facilities, such as ATSM (Mental Health Protection Units) or REMS (Residences for the Execution of Security Measures).
"Despite our alarm, these inmates continue to be assigned to Aversa, seriously endangering the safety of all prison staff and other inmates," Palmieri continued. This forced cohabitation, according to the secretary, not only undermines security—defined as "an essential condition for ensuring treatment"—but also risks negatively impacting the legal and rehabilitation processes of other inmates.
OSAPP concludes by renewing its best wishes for a speedy recovery to the officers involved, but warns: without a change in assignments, the safety of the Aversa institute will remain hanging by a thread.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
This is a truly complicated and difficult situation to manage. Prisoners' mental health issues must be addressed appropriately, otherwise there will always be conflicts and incidents like this. Urgent change is needed.