European nations under strain: Romania among six countries battling critical prison overpopulation
Romania is grappling with significant prison overcrowding, according to the Council of Europe's latest report. The country houses 116 inmates for every 100 available places, placing it among six European countries with severe overcrowding, as per the 2024 Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations (SPACE I).
The overcrowding is primarily due to the high number of sentenced inmates, as Romania has one of the lowest proportions of pre-trial detainees in Europe, at just 13%. This suggests that lengthy pre-trial detention is not a major factor contributing to the overcrowding.
The report does not provide specific details about the reasons for the high number of sentenced inmates in Romania or the nationalities of the foreign inmates. However, it does highlight that Romania does not rank among the top countries with the highest incarceration rate, with Türkiye leading at 356 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Azerbaijan (264) and Georgia (261).
Countries in the region, such as the Republic of Moldova (235) and Hungary (195), reported significantly higher incarceration rates compared to Romania. The average length of imprisonment in Europe is 11.3 months, with significant differences across countries. The longest average detention periods were found in Portugal (31.1 months), Azerbaijan (29.7), the Republic of Moldova (25.6), and Romania (25.5), considering countries with more than 500,000 inhabitants.
Western European states such as Luxembourg and Switzerland have a majority of inmates who are foreign citizens, but Romania reported the lowest proportion of foreign nationals in its prison population - just 1.1%.
Professor Marcelo Aebi, head of the SPACE research team, suggests that reducing sentence lengths, particularly for non-violent offenders, remains a crucial lever in addressing overcrowding. However, the report does not detail Romania’s specific policy responses to the overcrowding problem.
The SPACE surveys, conducted annually by the University of Lausanne for the Council of Europe, are key tools for monitoring prison conditions and informing policy decisions across member states. Without further data from Romania’s government or penal system reforms, it is unclear what specific steps Romania is taking beyond possibly maintaining a relatively low pre-trial detention rate.
Science may offer insight into the factors contributing to Romania's high number of sentenced inmates, based on the low percentage of pre-trial detainees. General news could provide updates on Romania's policy responses to address the prison overcrowding issue, as the SPACE surveys only provide a broad view.
Health and wellness, medical-conditions, and politics could play a role in understanding the root causes of crime rates and imprisonment trends in Romania, which could in turn help address the overcrowding issue. For example, studying the impact of healthcare access on recidivism rates might provide valuable information for both policymakers and the justice system.
