Between restorative justice and alternative punishments: San Marino, the first state in the world without prison

Subject

New models of execution of the sentence in the Republic of San Marino and rehabilitation of the offender

Learning outcomes

The primary objective of the research group is to carry out study, analysis and in-depth activities that accompany the institutions involved step by step in this process of change which sees the Republic of San Marino increasingly adapted to an international context oriented towards the application of models justice alternatives.

The aim is to promote alternative conflict resolution practices by maximizing the community's intervention, both as the party actually harmed by the offender's conduct and as a starting and finishing point to promote more direct intervention. In this way, the community takes on an active role as it must be able to accompany the offender in the process of accepting and processing guilt, offering the possibility of remedying the damage done. San Marino would thus become the first country in the world to adopt greater openness towards new forms of justice that are more inclusive and aimed at maximizing the reduction of recidivism.

Another objective is to promote all the tools useful for the humanization of penitentiary treatment as one of the key requirements of punishment, together with that of resocialization. The possibility of overcoming the San Marino penitentiary institute will therefore be investigated, together with the increase of restorative justice measures and the formalization of a bilateral agreement with the Italian State for the execution of medium-long term sentences for the most serious crimes that guarantees a path of re-education and reintegration.

A complementary objective is to create a network of international collaborations to define, starting from the exploration of the existing, new models of execution of the sentence.

Expected results

The research, which involved the Sammarinese institutions, concentrated in this first phase on verifying what the cultural substrate was for introducing the concept (and practice) of restorative justice in the Republic of San Marino.
Restorative justice is not an alternative to punishment but a path of moral reparation that involves both the offender and the victim, with a view to the social recovery of the prisoner and the containment of the risk of recidivism.

The research was structured into 3 subgroups that investigated

1. International models, research group leader Prof. Cristiano Depalmas;
2. The state of the art in San Marino, research group leader Dr. Francesca Civerchia;
3. The level of awareness and openness of society towards this procedure, research group leaders Prof. Luca Cimino and Dr. Arianna Piermarini.

The research group leaders were supported by students of the Master in Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry who worked on the research as a final course project (thesis).

In particular, the third step of the research was conducted through the structuring of a rather complex questionnaire submitted to both the civilian population and to technicians in the sector (law enforcement, health workers, REMS, educators and teachers, etc.).

The results on a sample of 119 responses (an apparently modest number but highly representative given the numbers from San Marino but also the complexity of the topic) have highlighted that there is an openness towards this practice but that a cultural and informative operation is needed on these very new and complex bioethical topics.

The research was preceded by a conference on PRISON PENALTIES AND ALTERNATIVE MEASURES (10-11 June 2022), which follows a long tradition of study on these topics within the Master in Criminology.
The Conference launched the themes by analyzing every form of precautionary measure currently known; on the STUDY DAY of March 1, 2024, there was the public restitution of the results of the research, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Justice and the Family and the Guarantor of persons deprived of personal liberty of the Marche Region, Dr. Giulianelli.
On that occasion, the issue of the inevitability of residual prison for high-intensity crimes was also addressed, but also of the absolute uselessness of such a measure for minor crimes, often dictated by addictions or psychological problems of the offender; in that case only rehabilitation can counteract recidivism.

Status of works

Concluded.

La Research it will come Now formalized e si will proceed to the publication of the work itinerary e of Estratti su riviste scientific; è already finished instead la transcription of atti of the convention final and will become a publication also institutional with il contribution economic e the aegis of Secretary di Status competent . Il statement financial e la synthesis of Research are already static sent al National of the University.