Covid-19 “contributed” reduce the prison population in Europe, in particular because of “traffic restrictions” imposed during the pandemic, according to a study from January 2020 to January 2021, published Tuesday April 5 by the Council of Europe.
“The decline in the rate of admissions to prison has (…) been particularly marked during 2020, which confirms the influence of movement restrictions linked to Covid-19”, notes a study carried out by the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) on behalf of the Council. It also invokes “the slowdown of the judicial systems” and “release programs” established “in some countries to prevent or curb the spread” of the virus.
“Fewer interactions between people means fewer offenses involving contact in public space, fewer arrests and fewer detentions”explains in the press release from the Council Professor Marcelo Aebi, who leads the team of researchers from the Swiss university.
Decrease of 2.3% between 2020 and 2021
“Covid-19-related restrictions on the movement of prisoners (which have resulted in a decrease in temporary exit permits and work outside prison establishments) could also explain the significant drop in the number of escapes” (2.2 per 10,000 detainees in 2020, compared to 8.2 in 2019), further advances the study.
As of January 31, 2021, “there were 1,414,172” detained in the 47 countries of the Council of Europe (including Russia, recently expelled from the organization after attacking Ukraine), the statement continues, either “a prison population rate (…) of 102 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants”, down 2.3% compared to previous prison figures: as of January 31, 2020, European prisons had 1,528,343 inmates (104.3 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants).
These figures confirm “a (downward) trend observed for ten years in most European states”, recalls the study. Between 2020 and 2021, the incarceration rate fell the most in Cyprus (-28.3%). In France, it fell by 11.7%. At the same time, it increased in Sweden (+8.2%), Romania (+6.6%) and North Macedonia (+5.4%).