Europe’s Prison Population Reduced due to the Covid-19 Pandemic says Council of Europe Report

06-04-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

On the 5th of April 2022, the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations for 2021 was published. The Report concluded that due to the Covid-19 pandemic the prison population in the Member States of the Council of Europe had reduced between the period of January 2020 and January 2021. More specifically, the decrease in prison population was caused by key factors of the Covid-19 pandemic such as:

“the reduction in certain types of crimes in the context of the restrictions of movement during the pandemic, the slowing down of the judicial systems, and the release schemes used in some countries to prevent or reduce the spread of Covid-19”. 

The statistics in the Report rely on the information provided by 49 out of the 52 prison administrations of Member States of the Council of Europe. From 2020 to 2021, the European prison population rate per 100,000 habitants fell by 2.3%; meaning the rate went from 104.3 to 101.9 inmates per 100,000 habitants. Moreover, the Report outlines that due to the numerous lockdowns imposed by Member States, the number of prisoners “serving sentences for theft fell by 8.7%, whilst the percentage of prisoners sentenced for less than one year dropped by 25.5%”. Overall, the incarceration rate decreased in the majority of Member States (i.e. France, Finland, Montenegro, Italy), but in some, the incarceration rate increased (i.e. Sweden, Romania and North Macedonia). Nonetheless, prison overcrowding remained a problem despite the reduced prison population with the following Member States having their prison administration overcrowded: Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, Turkey, Italy, France, Sweden, and Hungary. 

The Council of Europe’s Report concluded that, overall, the prison density fell by 5.3% from January 2020 to January 2021. Although this has positive repercussions in dealing with the global European problem of prison overcrowding, it is questionable whether this trend will continue as the restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic are not as frequent or invasive as they used to be. 

Sources and further reading:

Council of Europe. (2022, April 5). Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics: Covid-19 Pandemic Helped Reduce Europe’s Prison Population. Newsroom – Council of Europe. Retrieved on April 6, 2022, from https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/council-of-europe-s-annual-penal-statistics-covid-19-pandemic-helped-reduce-europe-s-prison-population

Council of Europe. (2022, April 5). Covid-19 Pandemic Helped to Reduce the Prison Population in Europe: Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics Released. Council of Europe – Media Release. Retrieved on April 6, 2022, from https://search.coe.int/directorate_of_communications/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680a60a50