A more inclusive justice system

The Autonomous Province of Trento has submitted the project proposal ‘Getting hands-on to build a better tomorrow’ in response to the non-competitive public call for proposals addressed to the Regions and Autonomous Provinces concerning, amongst other things, Action 2. “Implementation of intervention models for the active inclusion of prisoners (AMA DE)” under the Ministry of Justice’s plan “A more inclusive justice system”. 

This proposal, falling under Priority 1 – Support for social inclusion and the fight against poverty – Specific Objectives h (ESO 4.8) and k (ESO 4.11) of the 2021–2027 National Programme on Inclusion and the Fight against Poverty – has been approved for funding by Decree No. 613.ID of 30 July 2025 issued by the Director-General for the Coordination of Cohesion Policies at the Ministry of Justice, and is aimed at establishing programmes designed to strengthen skills development and facilitate the entry into the labour market of prisoners at Trento Prison, with the aim of promoting their integration and social and occupational reintegration and helping to reduce recidivism, by providing initiatives to engage and support them in the development and implementation of training programmes and pathways towards social and occupational inclusion.

The project forms part of a broader co-design process that concluded in 2025 and was relaunched in September 2026, aimed at establishing an integrated system of services and activities for the social and labour market inclusion of individuals subject to measures restricting personal liberty. In particular, the AMA DE project relates to activities to be carried out within prisons, specifically under Action Lines A ‘Catering’ and B ‘INSIDE & OUTSIDE Prison’ as set out in the final integrated project approved following the aforementioned co-design process, relating, respectively, to the establishment of a catering service and pizzeria outside the prison and an intramural workshop for women, as well as the implementation of a series of measures aimed at supporting the social and occupational reintegration of prisoners and former prisoners.

The measures set out in the project submitted by the Province under the AMA DE Call for Proposals concern:

• the upgrading of the workshop within the prison designed to help inmates acquire the necessary work skills, with a view to developing the knowledge and manual skills required for manufacturing processes such as assembly, fitting and packaging;
• the implementation, as part of the workshop activities referred to in the previous point, of training programmes, as well as the purchase of equipment necessary for carrying out these activities;
• the enhancement of the barber’s/hairdressing service to promote the well-being and safety of prisoners and to broaden access to skills applicable in the workplace, both through the delivery of vocational training programmes and through the purchase of equipment necessary for carrying out this activity.

The project proposal outlined above therefore aims to provide prisoners with the opportunity to train and specialise in sectors offering greater employment prospects, as well as to create supply chain networks linking the prison to the local community and the wider public.

Inclusion National Programme 2021–2027

The project is co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).