Prisons are bursting at the seams – Ministry of Justice wants to increase overcrowding to at least 115%!
Vienna (OTS) – “The number of foreign prisoners continued to rise last year,” summarized FPÖ-NAbg. Christian Lausch prepared an answer to a question from Justice Minister Zadic today. Almost ten thousand inmates (exactly 9,989) in domestic prisons did not have Austrian citizenship. This corresponds to a proportion of 56 percent and represents an increase compared to 2022, when around 52 percent of the prisoners were not Austrian. “What we read almost every day in the media is now also reflected in the statistics. Although ‘only’ around 19 percent of foreigners live in Austria, more than one in two people in Austrian prisons is not Austrian. This development is shocking,” said Lausch, a civilian prison guard.
The prison guard is suffering from a staff shortage, four percent of the positions are currently unfilled – and at the same time many prisons are bursting at the seams. Last year, 17 prisons were at least partially overcrowded. But things are supposed to get even worse: “The ministry is said to have issued the motto according to which the institutions should reach 115% capacity. Where will this end? Gang beds, mattress storage, accommodation in a multi-purpose room? “Put an additional bed in the two-man detention cells or just put a mattress on the floor?” asked the FPÖ MP, who also saw the overcrowding as a danger for the prison guards, who were increasingly staffed Outnumbered.
“The prison guards are doing everything they can, but everything is being done for the inmates. You can enjoy true ‘luxury menus’ with a 25 percent share of organic food. Justice Minister Zadic confirmed this to me. By 2030, this share is expected to rise to 55 percent. And all of this at a time when people can hardly afford to go shopping due to rising prices,” FPÖ-NAbg said angrily. Christian Lausch.
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