Sanremo, inmates occupy a section of the prison. Situation resolved after hours of negotiations. Pagani, Uilpa: “Structures in the hands of crime”

Sanremo – “We have learned that yesterday afternoon some inmates of the Sanremo prison, in order to protest against the Health Area after a prisoner demanded the administration of an IV (not prescribed), they occupied the entire departmentthe third section with 50 inmates present, forcing the only officer to leave the floor and with iron bars, sticks, they destroyed everything, threatening anyone who tried to enter. Only after hours of negotiation the Penitentiary Police with great difficulty managed to restore order and security”. This was declared by Fabio Pagani, secretary of the Uilpa Penitentiary Police.

“What happened, if confirmed according to the reconstruction that has reached us – adds Pagani – clarifies that in fact Prison control is in the hands of criminalsespecially in Sanremo and especially in the Third Section, which can carry out its criminal plans at any time, regardless of the long-term commitment that, with profound self-denial, is guaranteed by the women and men of the Penitentiary Police Corps, who however can do very little, remaining virtually abandoned to their own devices. 18 thousand units are missing. The agents are subjected to grueling shifts, without an organizational apparatus worthy of the name, with very little and inadequate equipment, exhausted in their morale and pride as servants of the State and, in addition, exposed to criminal and disciplinary proceedings, with sudden suspensions from service when, despite everything, they try at their own risk and peril to maintain order and security”.

All this, Pagani continues, “while the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio and the Meloni Government are unable or unwilling to produce anything significant. Events like this demonstrate, moreover, the uselessness of any Operational Intervention Group if the system is not first made safe. What would Gio have done? Before repression, we need to think about prevention and to do so we need to strengthen the staff beyond the propaganda of hiring that is not enough to cover the turnover. Under current legislation, despite the hiring that the government is talking about, on January 1, 2025 the staff of the Penitentiary Police will have approximately 500 fewer units than a year earlier. This, let it be clear, mainly due to the superficiality of the parliamentary majorities that have followed one another at least in the last 25 years, but that the current one is certainly not overcoming with the necessary speed and effectiveness. We need to immediately deflate the prison density, increase the number of Penitentiary Police officers, ensure health care. Prison is now a pressure cooker ready to explode”, concludes Pagani.