Prisons in Slovakia

Leopoldov Prison, the biggest prison in Slovakia

Prisons in Slovakia are fully owned and operated by the state. In 2004, Slovakia had 8 891 prisoners, representing 165 per 100 000 of the national population. By the end of 2010 the prison population has risen to 10 031 prisoners (184 per 100 000 citizens).[1] As of 2010, Slovakia had 18 correctional institutions capable of holding 9 500 inmates (other sources claim 10 615). Of these, five are devoted to pre-trial detainees, nine for sentenced prisoners, and four for a combination of sentenced prisoners and pre-trial detainees.

The prison system is administered by the Slovak General Directorate of the Prison and Court Guard Corps (current Director General is Col. Mgr. Róbert Mudronček, since 1 October 2010[2] ) falling under the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. Current occupancy level of the Slovak prison system is 94.5%. According to newspaper SME, currently there is no place for convicted criminals evading their sentences, if they were to be arrested by the Slovak police, there would simply be no place where to detain them.[3] According to the Slovak Ministry of Justice, the number of convicted prisoners is critical, despite the fact that 9 prisons lowered the minimal space per prisoner to lower values than mandated by law.[4]

Vital statistics

Slovak prisoners and prison population per 100,000 inhabitants
Year Prisoners total Prison population
per 100,000 inhabitants
1992 6 610 124
1995 7 899 147
1998 6 628 123
2001 7 433 138
2004 9 422 175
2007 7 986 148
2010 10 031 184

History

Czechoslovakia inherited a prison system from Austria-Hungary that is considered relatively progressive, with the facilities cited as being among the better prisons in Europe. As late as during the 1940s the prison system still incorporated the Leopoldov structure, originally built in 1669 to defend against the Turkish invaders. Between 1865 and 1952, Slovakia's prison system was controlled by the General Directorate of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard, under the Ministry of Justice, an organisational scheme similar to the one still in use today.

The country's oldest prisons date from the 17th century. Two of the largest prisons, Leopoldov Prison and Ilava Prison were reconstructed from an army fortress and a monastery respectively, both during Austria-Hungary. The largest prisons have a capacity of 600 - 900 prisoners.

Prison unrest of 1989

At the end of 1989, Czechoslovakia overthrew communism in its velvet revolution. Coinciding with the social and political changes outside, prisoners all around the country became rebellious. In Slovakia, the unrest started in December 1989 in Zeliezovce prison. In many prisons the inmates constructed simple banners out of bed sheets with slogans similar to those worn by protesters in the squares. Also, the prisoners started organizing themselves creating self-governing commissions and choosing spokespersons to represent their demands. Prison unrest became the focus of daily news coverage in Slovakia and situation escalated to the point, where several government ministers and the prime minister personally came to conduct negotiations to Leopoldov Prison.

Description

The most serious offenders are housed at Ilava, Leopoldov, or Ružomberok.

In 2011 the average cost of imprisoning one person in Slovakia was 37.26 euro per day. Each prisoner and detainee is obliged by law to pay 3.09 euro per day, an obligation that many people manage to evade. The total unpaid sum rose to 11.7 million euro as of June 2011.[5]

In the years 2012-2013 the Prison and Court Guard Corps is planning to re-equip its officers with new pistols and machine guns, yet the new arms are not part of the State Budget.[6]

List of prisons

Known issues in the prison system

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Country: Slovakia". International Centre for Prison Studies. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Duba, Peter (1 October 2010). "Slovakia has a New Prison Service Chief". WebNoviny. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Trško, Michal (10 April 2012). "Prisoner fight in Ilava was caused by love". SME. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "Vláda prerokuje koncepciu väzenstva na budúce roky (The Government will pass the Conception of the Prison System for the upcoming years)". Plusky.sk. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Nový Čas, 4.7.2011, Page 7
  6. ↑ SITA (25 April 2012). "Väznice majú lepšie oplotenie a kamery (Prisons should get better fences and surveillance cameras)". SME. Retrieved 26 April 2012.

Sources

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