Vita in istituto

Life of the institute

Life of the institute and relationship with the operators

The first Prisoner hours

The objective of this guide is to make you understand what is happening to you, how to exercise the rights that have been recognized and know the rules that you are kept to respect. You have already passed through the Office Matriculates, where you have been searched; the imprints, the photos and the registry data have been taken of you.

In the Office Matriculates they ask you even if you have problems of cohabitation with the other prisoners and, if so, present this problem now for your own safety.

All money and valuables have been removed from you (rings, chains, etc.), the watch, the belt and the other objects that need to be controlled: you can subsequently request, through a questionnaire in writing addressed to the Governor for the restitution of the belt, of the watch (the value of such should not exceed 155 Euro).

You’re visited by the doctor that asks you, among other things, if you are a drug addict: what you declare is important, because the type of treatment submitted will depend upon this.

At the end of the operations connected to the entry, you will be accompanied to your room.

The agent will give you a form, in which the conditions of the room are described. Before signing it, carefully control that all the objects are in the conditions described and, should there be something broken, request that it be written on the form, as possible damages found out later or during the term of your permanence, will be at your own expense.

If you’re found in regime of solitary confinement (isolamento) it is because the judge has prepared it, and you will be isolated up to when the disposition won’t be revoked. You have been informed of your right to warn the family ones (or other people) that you are found in the jail. You can do this through a telegram or through a letter. The postal expenses are in your name but, if you don’t have any money, the administration makes load of the consignment of the letter (in an open envelope), or of the telegram. In the telegram you can only give news of your entry into the institute from freedom or for transfer from another jail. You can request, through a "domandina", what is necessary (postage stamp and paper) for the letter or the forwarding of the telegram at the expenses of the administration. You must remember to specify that you request this because you are without any money.

If you don’t have a defender you can name him: request to go to the Office Matriculates, where you can find the Lawyers’ Bar of the district. (Your letter or the telegram in the above mentioned paragraph can also be sent to the named defender).

If you are a foreigner you can request that the Embassy or the Consulate of your country be informed of your arrest: this will be carried out at the Office Matriculates.

The Regulations or Rules of behaviour

Prison life is regulated by: Penitentiary Law (Ordinamento Penitenziario, O.P.), the Regulations containing norms relating to the prison system and to measures depriving and limiting personal freedom, the internal Regulations of the jail.

The order and discipline are conditions to carry out the foreseen re-educational treatment, therefore the jail is a place where there are precise rules: knowing and respecting them also helps not to make your situation worse. The Penitentiary Law foresees that:

	you observe the rules that regulate the life of the institute;
	you observe the dispositions imparted by the personnel;
	you have a respectful behaviour towards everybody.

All the infringements of the rules involve a sanction, that can be:

	the warning (it is the lightest sanction) (richiamo);
	the admonition (ammonizione);
	the exclusion from the recreational and sporting activities up to a maximum of 10 days (you cannot attend the "saletta", neither can you participate to the recreational activities; however, you can go to school );
	the isolation during the permanence outside (at the open air), for not more than 10 days;
	exclusion from activities in common with others up to a maximum of fifteen days (it is the most serious sanction. You are isolated in the cell, you can only go out for a hour of air or take a shower but always alone, and you cannot buy any meals at the internal store "sopravvitto" ( the extra purchase that you can usually buy in prison), you can only buy the necessities for your mail.

Incorrect behaviour can cause the loss of anticipated discount of sentence, which is foreseen for persons of good behaviour (it is called early release of the prisoner (liberazione anticipata) and it is of 45 days for every 6 months).

Therefore, in order not to have unpleasant consequences you must avoid incorrect behaviour, which are foreseen in the Rules of Execution:

carelessness in cleaning and in having care of ones own person or in the care of the room;
unjustified abandonment of the place assigned;
voluntary breach of working obligations;
attitudes and troublesome behaviours towards the community;
games or other activities not allowed by the internal regulations;
simulation of an illness;
trafficking the goods allowed in possession;
possession or trafficking of objects not allowed (for example: money);
fraudulent communications given to the outside or to the inside are indicated in the numbers 2) and 3) of the first comma of the article 33 of the law;
indecent exposure or contrary to the public decency (the jail, including your cell is a "public place" sexual relationships are not allowed);
intimidation of companions or overcoming towards the same ones;
falsification of documents coming from the Administration submitted to the custody of the prisoner or the internee;
appropriation or damage of goods that belong to the Administration
possession or traffic of tools that could offend (damage, harm, hurt, injure, wound)
offensive attitude towards the penitentiary operators or to other people that enter the institute for office or visiting reasons;
non observance of orders or prescriptions or unjustified delay in the carrying out of them;
unjustified delays in the re-entry foreseen by the articles 30, 30-ter, 51 52 and 53 of the law;
partecipation in disorders or revolts;
promotion of disorders or revolts;
escape;
facts foreseen by the law as crime, committed to damage companions or penitentiary operators or visitors.

The Personnel of the Institute

Refer to Agents (and to the other penitentiary operators) using the "Lei" (third person); they in return must answer in the same way and call you by your surname. According to rules you may not know the names of the personnel of Penitentiary Police, therefore you must call them by the grades which they have:

	Agent (Agente) (grades shoulder strap without grades, or with a single red arrow);
	Assistant (Assistente) (shoulder strap with two or three red arrows );
	Superintendent (Sovrintendente) (shoulder strap with one or more silver bars);
	Inspector (Ispettore) ( shoulder strap with one, or more silvered pentagons);
	Commander (Comandante) (shoulder strap with one bar and one or two silvered pentagons).

Other than the personnel of Penitentiary Police, in the institute, there are other operators:

	the Governor; (Direttore)
	the assistant Governor; (Vicedirettore)
	the Officiers of the Pedagogic area; (Funzionari dell’area Pedagogica)
	the Psychologists; (Psicologo)
	the Psychiatrists; (Psichiatra)

	the Social Assistants; (Assistente Sociale)
	the Ser.T. Staff; (Operatori del Ser.T.)
	the Voluntary Assistants; (Assistente volontario)
	the Teachers; (Insegnante)
	the Chaplains; (Cappellano)
	the Sanitary Executive; (Dirigente sanitario)
	the Doctors. (Medici)

You can request an interview with them by a written application (domandina/form) to the Direction.

The Penitentiary Law (Ordinamento Penitenziario) also guarantees you the possibility to come into contact with the Supervisory Magistrate (Magistrato di Sorvaglianza) and with the Regional Director of Prisons of the Administration Department for Prison (Provveditore Regionale delle Carceri del Dipartimento dell’Amministrazione Penitenziaria – D.A.P.) you can request to be personally heard by them, or you can send them questions and written claims. If you don’t have the necessary things to write, the Administration is held to furnish it to you. You can also send a letter in a closed envelope: on the envelope write clearly to whom you send it and, on the back, your name.

The applications (istanze) of transfer to another jail have to be applied for, through the Institute:

	to the Regional Director of the Administration Department for Prison (D.A.P.), when you request to be moved to a jail of the same district;
	to the Ministry of the Justice - Administration Department for Prison (D.A.P), when you request a transfer to a jail out of the district.

The conversations, the phone calls and the mail

You are allowed six visual conversations a month, for the duration of an hour each, with the members of your family or your cohabitants. In particular cases (for which one must specify the motives, in a special request addressed to the Governor) conversations also can be allowed with other people. The conversations can also last more than a hour: if you don’t often make them, or if your relatives come from far, you can request to gather together the hours, foreseen monthly, in single conversation.

Until you are defendant, the authorization to the conversations is granted by the judge that proceeds; after the first degree trial, you are granted by the Governor of the jail.

Once a week you can be authorized to phone your relatives and cohabitants, always after having gotten the necessary authorization, that must be requested:

	to the judge who is proceeding in your comparisons, up to the first degree sentence;
	to the Supervisory Magistrate after the first degree sentence and until you won’t be definitive;
	to the Governor of the Institute, when you are definitive.

(The request must always be made to the Direction of the Institute, that will then transmit it to whom of competence ).

Even if you come from another jail, where you’ve already phoned your family, you have to request the authorization in order to carry out the phone calls in this Institute and you will have to wait a few days before receiving it. Once you receive this authorization, you can request through a "domandina" (application form) to make the phone call specifying the day and the time when you would prefer to make it. You must also point out in the "domandina" what language you will use during the phone call, if it is not the Italian language.

The convicts of crimes foreseen by the first period of the first paragraph of the art. 4bis Penitentiary Law (O.P. - Ordinamento Penitenziario) only have the right to have four conversations and two phone calls every month. In these cases, if they have the necessity to make more conversations, they can ask the Governor of the Institute to grant them, specifying clearly the motives for their application (for example to favour the maintenance of the relationships with the family).

You can receive, at the very most, four packages a month, brought by the people admitted to the conversations or received by mail, containing groceries, clothing and personal bed sheets, for a general weight of 20 Kgs. Bear in mind that each postal packet, containing any object (different from the didactic material), will be counted as a package.

You can receive books (not with rigid cover), magazines and other didactic material also in excess to the anticipated weight. Stuffed suits and shoes would be able not to be delivered to you, because of a difficult control, or because its not allowed.

You can forward on and receive mail without any limits. On the letters you must always write your full name. The Judge can submit the correspondence to censorship; in this case, you will be warned beforehand and the incoming and outgoing will be censored. (If you are submitted to censorship, mail the envelope without gluing it).

The expense and the purchase

In the Office Matriculates they have withdrawn all your money: you will soon receive a deposit account "book" (libretto di conto corrente) on which the amount you have at your disposal is written and you will be adjourned with all the pay-in and pay-out balances. Money can be received through postal money orders or through a deposit at the gatehouse. It is forbidden to receive money through your mail.

Besides the three meals that are furnished by the Administration, you can purchase other groceries and cook them (provided that they are easy cooking) with a camping gas cooking stove, also on sale at the internal store "sopravvitto". The prisoners of Islamic religion can request, through a special "domandina", to receive "Moslem food". You can purchase all the products (alimentary, cleansers, paper, cigarettes, etc.) that are specified on a list which is available in every section. If you want other products, not inclusive in this list, you can purchase them through a "domandina/form", but only if there are particular reasons it can be allowed.

You can spend, at the most, 424 Euro a month, 106 Euro a week, purchasing all the products you need, enclosed in the list of the expense (through the "domandina/form"); sending telegrams and carrying out the phone calls you are allowed to do.

The "domandina"(a printed form for applications)

The domandina is a form you need to make requests to the Direction:

	To talk with the Governor;
	To talk with the Commander;
	To talk with the person responsible of the Office Command;
	To talk with the person responsible of the Office Matriculates (if one has juridical problems);
	To talk with the Director of the Pedagogic Area;
	To talk with the social assistants of the C.S.S.A. (when one has a problem with the outside);
	To talk with the Ser.T. staff (if one is a drug addict or alcohol dependent);
	To talk with the psychologist;
	To talk with the chaplain;
	To talk with the authorized voluntary assistants;
	the purchase of products non inclusive in the list of the purchase (Mod. 72);
	a benefit, if one is without money (it consists in products for the cleaning, postage stamps, etc.);
	books from the library;
	change of cell or section;
	admission in scholastic courses and other activities;
	other... (clearly specify the motives, also writing on the back, if the space isn’t enough).

You can request these forms to the agent at the section. Besides this application form (domandina), there are other forms available, with which you can request:

	to make the phone calls to the members of your family and cohabitants;
	the benefits foreseen by the Penitentiary Law (O.P.).

The "domandina" must be mailed in the letter-box for mail, the other application forms must be handed over to the Office Matriculates. If you need to go to the Office Matriculates you must book giving your surname to the agent of the section.

lf you want to communicate with the Governor or with the Commander, about requests or particular problems, you can do it by sending him a letter in a closed envelope (that must not be stamped).

The schools, the professional formation, the cultural and sporting activities

In Institute, professional formation courses are organized but there are also different cultural and sporting activities . These are an important part of the "course" that the operators observe, therefore if you are admitted to participate to one of this, you should correctly apply yourself.

These activities can also facilitate you to better learn the Italian language and they will make you learn information and techniques that will be very useful to you when you will return free: from the use of personal computers, to professional competences of different types. If the courses are carried out correctly till the end, you can achieve certificates or scholastic diplomas and establish relationships with external operators, all these opportunities will make you easier could help you to find a job. If you want to request to be enrolled on these courses and on other activities you shall write a "domandina", but bear in mind that a selection will be carried out (the places available are usually inferior to the applications) and that you could also remain excluded. To participate to these courses or other activities helps to win the monotony of incarceration, it allows you to know new people and to learn useful things. Therefore be careful for notices, that you will find on the door of the saletta: when they concern an activity that interests you, write a "domandina/form: "I ask to participate to the course of …"

Social Service Centres for Adults (C.S.S.A.)

It is an office of the Penitentiary Administration out of the Institute, formed by social assistants, a head of social service, and the administrative staff of the penitentiary police. The task of this service concerns the activity inside the penitentiary institute and the activity in the territory. The C.S.S.A. (Social Service Centres for Adults), in fact, plays an important role for the prisoners and for the persons exposed to an alternative measure to the detention, the role of link and stimulus, making contact with the social environment (family, work, services) referred to.

Inside the penitentiary institutes

Participation in the monitoring activity and prisoner treatment, in collaboration with other operators of the institute. As to this activity, in particular, the social assistant should give information about the prisoner’s record and about the social and family environment from which he comes and thinks to be integrated as soon as possible. The monitoring activity is started out immediately after the indications given by the direction of the institute to the C.S.S.A.
Intervention of the secretariat, in particular, for problems related to the family relationships or with other external references. This type of intervention is asked by the prisoner through the "domandina/form", and will be filtered by the educators’ office and will be transmitted if it is inherent to the limits of competence of the C.S.S.A.
Participation in the internal activities of the institute through committees.

In the territory

Social family investigations, under request of the Supervisory Court, to assess the alternative measures to the detention;
Collaboration with other C.S.S.A.

As to the alternative measures to the detention

Probation (affidamento in prova) with the Social Services: the social assistant is in charge of following the measure, referring the Supervisory Magistrate (Magistrato di Sorveglianza) and acting with support and control.
Semi-liberty: the social assistant refers the direction of the institute about the development of the measure, keeping the double function of assistance and overseeing.
Other alternative measures or security measures: the social assistant is a point of reference for the problems related to the social integration.

The Service for drug addition (Ser.T.)

The Ser.T. is concerned with every person who declares to be a drug addict who takes toxic substances or alcohol. It is not absolutely necessary to have a residence or being under treatment in a Ser.T. If you make use of toxic substances or alcohol, you can tell the doctor who visits you the first time or as soon as you wish, and the Ser.T. will be informed. If you are under treatment in a Ser.T., you can say it and you will be guaranteed the continuity of your treatment. If you have never been to a Ser. T., after a quick exam, you will be treated with the more suitable therapy according to your needs. If you need to contact the Ser.T., you can make a request to the jail doctor.

What can you ask the Ser.T.?

	Contacts with the Ser. T. that followed you when you were free or with another institute;
	Definition of an appropriate definite program in alternative to detention;
	Contacts with therapeutic communities and working cooperatives;
	Insertion in therapeutic treatment groups;
	Assessment and eventual psychological support.

Under-treatment Alcoholics Association Club (A.C.A.T.)

It is a voluntary association that works in jail, with the activation of Under-treatment Alcoholics Club (C.A.T.) inside the institute. The C.A.T. work according to the ecological-social approach (Hudolin method) and they help the person to face the problems related to the use of alcohol through comparison, in a group context where they can express solidarity and friendship. Reaching abstinence permits to work on the change of life style and face their own future on project terms. In each C.A.T. there is a server-teacher. The meeting take place once a week, for an hour and a half.

To participate in the C.A.T. you only have to ask it through a "domandina" (form), and afterwards, there would be an assessment interview, according to its results, you will be given the following indications. Who is conscious of having problems related to the use of alcoholic drinks and is willing to face them, can talk about it with a voluntary or the educators, or with the psychologist, and you will receive the necessary information.

The health protection in jail

In jail, the reduced spaces and the forced cohabitation can have some risks on your health. If you observe these suggestions of behaviour your health will be more protected.

General rules for a life in jail as healthy as possible

	If you stay in bed the whole day, during the night you will have difficulty in sleeping. You should try to get up early in the morning and to make some body movement: it is possible to make gymnastics in your cell. When possible, go outside and get the sun, it’s good for the mind and it improves your humour.
	Take particular care of the food. Don’t preserve perishable foods (meats, milk, etc ) from one day to the other, especially in summer or when the central heating is on. Peel the fruit and wash the vegetable. If you have problems of mastication, or of digestion, make it present to the physician, who will evaluate your condition and will prescribe an appropriate diet.
	Don’t drink wine with psychotropic drugs or with methadone, this causes burden damages, physical and mental, and it constitutes a disciplinary offence. You must remember that it is forbidden to drink wine over the daily dose (half litre) and, however you should consume it in moderation.
	Self-injury (to cut oneself, to swallow blades, bleach, etc.), besides the apparent body injuries, negatively influences the results of the monitoring. You can carry-out your rights foreseen by the law, through written applications to the competent people, you certainly won’t reach your purpose through an action of self-injury.
	It is not allowed to tattoo oneself as the use of needles or other instruments that however aren’t sterilized, can cause the transmission of serious diseases.
	In jail sexual relations are forbidden, as already mentioned beforehand. It can also mean the transmission of various diseases: A.I.D.S., hepatitis B, syphilis.
	Do not exchange objects of your own personal hygiene (razors, tooth brushes etc.) clothes or shoes with other prisoners. These objects can also be contagious: from the hepatitis, to the scabies, to the mycosis and other skin infections.
	Always keep the window of your cell open as long as possible in order to guarantee a flow of fresh air.

The importance of hygiene

	When you are given your supply, control that the mattress, the pillow, the sheets and other objects of the personal use are clean.
	Before entering your new cell clean it thoroughly, even if it does already seem clean.
	If you don’t have any money, ask for the products from the administration for your personal hygiene and for the cleaning of your cell (through a special "domandina/form").
	Constantly keep all the shelves or ledges where your food is kept, the dishes, the sink, the toilet clean.
	Do not enter the showers bare-foot: you risk catching infectious skin diseases like mycosis and warts etc. It is advisable to take the shower daily. (The shower is only for washing yourself, not for shaving nor washing your clothes.

The rules for the cleaning

By rule you must take care of your own hygiene and of the cell you are in. Showering is allowed daily and especially it is foreseen upon re-entry from the gym, the sporting field, from school or from the job

Relations with the sanitary service

Upon entry into the jail you are submitted to various examinations and the physician asks you even if you want to make the H.I.V. test: in order to defend your health it is better to accept.

The doctor asks you even if you are an addict or alcoholic; if you are, declare it: you will receive the assistance from the Ser.T. staff or from the "Centro Alcologico". If you have not declared this condition upon entry do it as soon as possible (signalling yourself to a medical visit ), in order to receive proper care of your case.

Information about health is confidential and the doctors are held to secrecy: if you have any illness talk to them without any fear.

The penitentiary sanitary service doesn’t only furnish medicines but also specialized visits (dentist, oculist, cardiologist, etc.) clinic examinations, care at the Clinic Centres: should you be in need, make a request for them and you will obtain such performances.

In order to obtain a visit by the penitentiary physician book it the evening before, giving your surname to the agent at the section: you will see the doctor the following day. If you have a sudden indisposition, inform the agent at the section (he will immediately call the doctor): you will obtain a visit urgently.

The nurse cannot modify the prescribed therapy, therefore, if you have any problem concerning this, you must book yourself for the medical visit and present this problem to the doctor.

Therapy must be taken immediately when it is handed over by the nurse: it is forbidden to accumulate medicines (even the daily administered dose) and give them to other prisoners.

You can also be visited by an external doctor at your own expenses: you must request it from the Governor who will authorize this entry, specifying the motive for this visit.