Georgia Has Second Highest Increase in Prison Population in Europe 2005 - 2015

On 4 December, The Council of Europe has released a report “Prisons in Europe 2005 - 2015” including a country profile on the Georgian prison system. The report found that Georgian prisons have experienced the second highest increase (+37%) in prison population in Europe from 2005 to 2015.

In 2005, Georgia had 201 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, while in 2015 the figure stood at 275. “The increase observed from 2005 to 2012 is mainly due to the fact that, during that period, the country applied a strict law enforcement policy” reads the report.

The report also found an increase in the average length of detention based on stock and flow (+145%), percentage of foreign inmates (+245%), and percentage of suicides (+19%).

Nonetheless, certain indicators also showed a decrease. The rate of entries into penal institutions (-55%), prison density (-56%), percentage of female inmates (-52%), percentage of non-sentenced inmates (-77%) and rates of deaths per 10,000 inmates (-53%).

The report contains 51 profiles on the prison populations in the Prison Administrations of the 47 member states of the Council of  Europe.

By Amy Jones

Photo source: Telekom Electronic Beats