Baku. Victoria Dementieva - APA. The number of prisoners in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Latvia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the number of prisoners exceeds the Council of Europe average of 149 prisoners per 100 000 inhabitants by more than double, says in a draft resolution adopted in Strasbourg by PACE Legal Affair Committee.
To reduce Europe’s prison population, it invites the member states, particularly those with the highest rates of imprisonment, to promote the use of non-custodial sentences, especially for first-time and non-violent offenders, young offenders and women. It also points out that recent advances in technology allowing for new methods of electronic surveillance have made these alternatives more cost-effective.
According the CoE statistics, 21 Council of Europe member states have also serious problems of overcrowding in prisons, with more than 100 prisoners per 100 places of detention. The countries where the situation is worst are Serbia, at 172 prisoners per 100 places, Italy at 153, Cyprus at 151, Greece at 123, Turkey at 115 and France at 108.
In view of the high costs of constructing and maintaining new prisons, the Committee recommends concentrating scarce budgetary funds on improving detention conditions in existing prisons rather than expanding prison capacity.
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