site.btaCouncil of Europe Reports Decreasing Inmate Population in Bulgaria, Lack of Electronic Monitoring

Council of Europe Reports
Decreasing Inmate Population in Bulgaria,
Lack of Electronic Monitoring


Brussels/Strasbourg, February 11 (BTA correspondent Nikolay
Jeliazkov) - The 2013 Annual Penal Statistics by the Council of
Europe suggest that the inmate population in Bulgaria is
decreasing and that electronic monitoring is not applied
although it is legislated.

The stock figures about Bulgaria do not include persons residing
within the investigative detention facilities (IDF) because the
accurate data from these institutions were unavailable.

The report states there are no specialised institutions for
drug-addicted offenders outside prisons, no psychiatric
institutions outside the penitentiary system foreseen for the
inmates and only one psychiatric hospital within the
penitentiary system, where inmates may be placed if necessary.

The report says that the number of inmates in Bulgaria dropped
by 5 per cent in 2013. In 2013, there were 8,834 inmates and
each had about 4 sq m of living space. Bulgaria's prisons can
accommodate 8,467 inmates.

Between 2004 and 2013, the number of inmates dropped by 13.5
percent and between 2012 and 2013 by 6.9 per cent. These figures
don't include the number of inmates in IDFs. VI/PP





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