The author questions the idea that the emergence in the Italian case of an actuarial approach to the government of criminal justice is a consequence of the crisis of welfarist correctionalism. The socio-legal and administrative practices of distribution of convicted among the various punitive programs, apparently based on recidivism risk assessment, must be considered as a necessity due to the punitive bulimia and an evolution of the welfarist tecniques of standardization and optimal resources’ allocation.
Keywords: Prison; non-custodial measures; recidivism; risk; welfare