Council of Europe: overcrowding in prison remains an issue

On June 6, 2024, the Council of Europe released the Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations 2023, conducted annually by the University of Lausanne. The data findings of the report are not promising, especially when it comes to the high numbers of the prison population. 

The report shows the persistent problem of prison overcrowding in Europe.  

According to the Council of Europe, the overall prison population per 100 places available increased from 91.7 to 93.5. More specifically, 7 states (Cyprus, Romania, France, Belgium, Italy and Slovenia) reported that their prisons are severely overcrowded. Per 100 beds available, the actual number of prisoners oscillates between 166 and 107. 

The situation remains problematic for other 5 countries that reported a very high prison density. While for other states the situation appears slightly better, reporting less than 100 prisoners per 100 available places but were on the edge of overcrowding. 

The fact that from 2022 to 2023 the average incarceration rate in the states of the Council of Europe grew by 2.4% shows that the situation is not likely to improve. Only in 4 countries, namely Malta, Lithuania, Estonia and Greece, the prison population decreased. 

Professor Marcelo Aebi, Head of the SPACE research team from the University of Lausanne stated that overcrowding remains an issue for prison administrations. It is important to take into consideration that crimes of violence and related to drugs are the most common offenses for which people in Europe are detained. Moreover, it must be noted that almost one out of three prisoners is in pre-trial detention, waiting for trial, and on the European average, 27% of the detainees were foreigners. 

If you want to know more about the prison population composition in Europe, read the full report.