ROME (Reuters) -Italy's government has pledged to expand prison capacity by up 15,000 places and facilitate the transfer of inmates with addiction problems to treatment centres to tackle a long-standing overcrowding crisis.
The plight of prisoners has attracted more attention in Italy following a record number of suicides last year and complaints about soaring summer temperatures in detention facilities that are not air-conditioned.
As of July 15, the country had 62,986 inmates, and an effective capacity in prisons of 47,289, justice ministry data showed. This gives Italy an occupancy rate of around 133%, one of the worst in Europe.
According to the World Prison Brief database, only Cyprus, and France fare worse. Last year the Italian parliament approved a law to improve jail conditions, but it had little practical effect.
"We believe that a just state should adjust the capacity of prisons to the number of people that need to serve their sentences," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Her government presented a 758-million-euro ($890 million) plan to expand prison capacity by almost 10,000 by 2027, and a separate initiative for which it gave no budget to create an additional 5,000 places within five years.
It also adopted a draft law - which will need parliamentary approval - to allow a sizeable portion of inmates with alcohol or drug addictions to leave prison and serve their sentences in rehab centres.
"These are people who need treatment rather than criminals who need punishment," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said, noting that inmates with addiction issues make up almost a third of the prison population.
Nordio also referred to last week's announcement that up to around 10,000 inmates nearing the end of their sentencing could be eligible for house arrest or probation. His ministry has set up a taskforce to speed up the assessment of these cases.
The early release of prisoners is set to be gradual, however, partly due to the political sensitivity of the move for a right-wing government such as Meloni's, known for its tough approach on law and order.
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(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
