Italy has 30,000 foreign convicts serving sentences outside prison

Article By Thomas Brooke

By region, the largest number of foreign offenders serving their sentences outside of prison originate from Africa.

More than 144,000 convicted offenders in Italy are currently serving sentences outside prison through alternative or community-based measures, according to new official data highlighted by Italian newspaper La Verità, with over 30,000 of them being foreign nationals.

Figures from Italy’s justice administration dated Jan. 15, 2026, show 144,822 convicted individuals are not incarcerated but are instead serving alternative penalties such as community supervision, probation, or other non-custodial measures. Of these, 30,279 are foreign citizens, accounting for 21 percent of the total.

The data indicates that most offenders serving alternative sentences are men, with more than 129,000 male convicts compared with roughly 15,800 women. The majority fall within the 30 to 59 age range.

According to the breakdown by region of origin, foreign nationals under supervision most commonly come from African countries, accounting for 37 percent of foreign offenders in alternative measures. They are followed by individuals from other European countries outside the European Union at 23.8 percent, EU citizens at 18.5 percent, Central and South Americans at 11.2 percent, Asians at 9.4 percent, and Oceania at 0.1 percent.

In Italia, ben 30.279 sono gli immigrati criminali che scontano pene alterazioni e così sono liberi di tornare a delinquere.@amendolaraf pic.twitter.com/IVm1rMtckt

— Francesca Totolo (@fratotolo2) February 10, 2026

By nationality, the largest groups come from Morocco, Albania, and Romania, with 4,871, 4,147, and 3,890 roaming convicts, respectively. These nations are followed by Tunisia (1,824) and Nigeria (1,464). Smaller numbers come from countries including Egypt, Peru, Ukraine, Moldova, China, Pakistan, and several Latin American states.

As investigative journalist Fabio Amendolara notes, Italian authorities classify these individuals as part of the country’s “external penal area,” meaning they remain under judicial supervision while living in the community rather than in detention facilities.

The expansion of alternatives to imprisonment has been linked to reforms introduced in recent years, including measures promoted during the tenure of former Justice Minister Marta Cartabia, which sought to reduce prison overcrowding and expand the use of community-based penalties.

In July last year, the Italian government weighed up the early release of more than 10,000 prisoners as a response to severe overcrowding. It was an unprecedented move by the Meloni government, which had previously opposed any so-called “prison-emptying” measures.

Nordio noted that the move would simply apply an already existing legal provision that allows for inmates, with less than 24 months left to serve and convicted of non-violent offenses, to serve the remainder of their sentences outside prison.

In August 2024, Italy experienced a wave of prison riots largely attributed to the issue of overcrowding, with detention centers in Turin, Bari, and Rome making headlines. In one instance, a nurse was taken hostage by the prisoners, and security guards were seriously injured.

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