A delegation from Sappe, led by the general secretary General Giovanni Battista Durante, accompanied by the regional secretary Francesco Ciccone, visited the penitentiary institutions of Cosenza and Paola. In Cosenza, during the visit, Salvatore Vita, Lorenzo Barbieri, Franco Mazzuca and Adolfo Calabrese were accompanied by the secretaries.
During the visit – they say during and Ciccone – we have found a particularly critical situation as regards prison police staff, both for the lack of staff, and for the management of human resources, from our point of view not adequately managed by the top of the structure. It has been found that staff often operate in solitude, without the necessary support, and must face emergencies without an authoritative and incisive guide, thus compromising the essential security levels. In particular – during and Ciccone continue – it should be noted that the Institute of Cosenza, like many others in Italy, is also called to manage prisoners with psychiatric problems. All this has obvious repercussions on personnel safety.
It is unacceptable to delegate the management of individuals with serious psychiatric problems to the prison police, a responsibility that requires specific preparation and adequate resources. The Sappe has long denounced this emergency, soliciting the attention of the policy and the department of the penitentiary administration, without so far having recorded an adequate response. A legislative and organizational intervention is crucial that restores dignity and safety to penitentiary staff and allows adequate management of mental health that in adequate places that are not prisons. During the visit we witnessed an episode that involved a prisoner in an evident state of psychic alteration. We were able to see De Visu how much violence can unleash such situations, without adequate psychiatric support and without sufficient agents. It is therefore also necessary to review the organic plant of the Institute of Cosenza, integrating it with new staff. There is also a more consistent presence of guide figures capable of coordinating operations in a context of collaboration, rather than solitude in which in recent times most of the staff has been left. Before the start of the visit, the delegation had the opportunity to meet Dr. Roberta Toscano who should soon be appointed director of the Cosenza District House. We wish her a big good luck for her new adventure, convinced that a fruitful collaboration can be established, for the benefit of all the staff who want to work with greater serenity. Tomorrow we will be in Catanzaro, at 10.30, where we will keep a press conference.