Deputy Minister of Justice Maria Ejchart intends to solve the problem of overcrowding in Polish prisons by reducing the number of prisoners by 20 thousand. According to her earlier assurances, by the end of January all 580 targets in Poland, which had more than 10 prisoners, were eliminated. As she said, in her opinion, the presence of respective inmates in 1 cell cannot bring any rehabilitation effects. There were reportedly as many as 18 prisoners in 1 of the destroyed cells.
Ejchart notes that prisons in Poland face overcrowding problems. According to her, 1 of the main reasons for this is the policy of the erstwhile government, which assumed that "all crimes should be punished by prison."
Prisoners “in freedom”
The Deputy Minister informed that the situation would shortly change, as the recently appointed Criminal Law codification committee was working on it. Among another things, it is planned to extend the usage of electronic surveillance as 1 of the measures to reduce the number of detainees.
What's a punishment like? Convicted must stay in a designated place by the court, usually in the apartment, and may leave only for specified hours and purposes, specified as going to work. The behaviour of the convict is monitored by a peculiar transmitter worn on the hand or leg, which transmits the signal to the receiver placed in the apartment. If the transmitter stops transmitting the signal, that means the convict has left the designated location.
"Without any change, we can already usage this solution for 4 1000 people. I besides want the directors of the criminal establishments not to be afraid to apply for early release," Ejchart explains.
The Deputy Minister of Justice stressed that the main nonsubjective for the current word is to reduce the number of prisoners by 20 000. According to her words, the first layoffs have already been made.
Poland has the most prisoners in Europe
The number of prisoners in Poland is an crucial subject of discussion in the context of the prison and justice system. Data provided by the Central Board of Prison Service show that as of 31 May 2023 the full number of prisoners in Polish prisons was 78 102. Most prisoners were convicted – 68,690. Temporary arrests were 8,495, and 917.
According to 2021 figures, Poland and Hungary held the position with the highest number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in the European Union. It was 191 prisoners. For example, Germany achieved 69 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, Italy 93 and large Britain 139.
