The overcrowding of prison: please stop talking about square metres

Abstract

The Author adopts an unusual perspective to describe the main problems related to the overcrowding of prisons. He is personally experiencing the gaps and inconsistencies of the latest regulations on the alternative measures for criminal enforcement. The analysis of the present situation cannot disregard the European proposals for improvement. The Author points out, however, that reducing the problem to a simple mathematical calculation of the minimum surface available for each prisoner could become a fruitless declaration of rights, rather than a practical attempt to find appropriate measures to reduce the risk of recidivism.