Italian prisons experience surge in assaults on guard staff

In the past week, three separate incidents of violence against Penitentiary Police have been reported in Italian prisons. In Saluzzo, a high‑security inmate struck an officer in the isolation unit, causing severe jaw pain; the guard was treated and released with a ten‑day prognosis. At the Porto Azzurro facility on Elba, a policeman was slashed on the arm with a razor while separating two North‑African detainees, also receiving a ten‑day prognosis. In Brescia’s Nerio Fischione prison, an altercation between an Italian and a Cameroonian inmate led to two officers being pushed against a wall and hospitalized for four days. Union representatives from OSAPP and SAPPE condemned the “intolerable” and “escalating” situation, highlighting chronic understaffing, lack of video surveillance and severe overcrowding, and called for urgent inspections and increased personnel.

The incidents underscore growing security challenges within Italy’s penitentiary system and pressure authorities to implement immediate protective measures.