A prison officer was attacked in Bancali. The Sappe union reported the incident today, around 6:00 PM, in the seventh section of the facility, when an officer was opening a cell to allow another inmate to enter.
"According to initial reconstructions, the inmate already inside suddenly and violently pushed the officer, ripping off his polo shirt and personal necklace. As a result of the push, the officer fell to the ground," the union statement states. "How much longer must the Penitentiary Police staff of Bancali endure?" ask Gregory Saba, Deputy Provincial Secretary of the Sassari branch of the SAPPE, and Antonio Cannas, national SAPPE delegate. "We cannot continue to witness attacks against colleagues who are simply carrying out their duties. In Sassari, we are facing an extremely critical situation, and concrete and immediate interventions are needed."
The union believes several aspects of work organization need to be reviewed. "When assaults occur with this frequency," Saba and Cannas emphasize, "it's not enough to simply report yet another incident. We need to understand what's going wrong and intervene. Officer safety cannot be a secondary variable in prison organization. Work organization must be reviewed and staffing needs to be adequate to the facility's actual needs."
Meanwhile, the assignment of new officers from the 186th class is underway, with the request that they also be assigned to the prison. "We need officers," the two union representatives emphasize, "not token interventions or numbers on paper. We need new assignments and a significant increase in staffing, capable of simultaneously ensuring the safety of our colleagues, the management of the sections, and the smooth running of the facility."
Donato Capece, secretary general of the Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police, also commented on the incident, noting that incidents of violence against law enforcement officers are increasingly frequent. The SAPPE (Italian Penitentiary Police Union) announced that it will bring the situation at the facility to the attention of the prison administration's top management, requesting an immediate review of work organization, the distribution of human resources, and the safety measures in place in the most exposed departments. "This time, we don't intend to stop at a simple public complaint," Saba and Cannas concluded, with the possibility of involving the prefecture as well. "We will raise the situation with the top management of the prison administration and demand answers and concrete action. Protecting the safety of our colleagues comes first. Bancali needs staff, security, and answers. And they need them now."
