Conditions of Imprisonment—Victimization and Conflicts in European Prisons

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the prison conditions and the level of victimization in seven countries in Eastern and Central Europe. These countries include Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Russia, and Sweden. In 2004, data on selected aspects of prison life were collected by the Mare Balticum research project. Results indicated that the level of fear of victimization among prisoners was higher in prisoners in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland than in Finland, Sweden, and Germany and the living conditions and the overall quality of life in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were worse than in Finland, Sweden, and Germany. Recommendations are included.

KEYWORDS:

• Victimization
• imprisonment
• European prisons

Notes

^aSome respondents were sentenced for multiple offenses so multiple responses to the question were made.

1. I would like to thank Frieder Dünkel, the head of the project, and the Ministry of Education of Mecklenburg-Pomerania for funding.

2. Some countries, i.e., Lithuania, used up to three languages but these refer to the neighboring countries thus not extending the total scope of our sample.

3. The terms “low level” means 9 years of school education, “middle level” means 10 years of school education, and “high level” means 12–13 years of school education.

4. Theft is over proportionally named in Poland (49.1%), Latvia (41.9%), and Germany (40.9%) and very seldom in Sweden (only 5.5%). Drunken driving is very often mentioned in Germany (23.4%) and in Finland (16.9%) and seldom in Lithuania (1.0%). Homicide was mostly mentioned in Latvia (18.3%) and Lithuania (17.5%), rarely in Germany (2.9%). Sex offenses were mentioned quite often in Lithuania (16.5%), seldom in Finland (2.6%) and Latvia (2.2%), and never in Sweden (0%). Economic crime was mostly in Finland (6.5%) and Lithuania (6.2%) with all the others between 1.4% and 2.2%. Robbery had its peak in Lithuania (39.2%), Poland (35.3%), and Germany (32.1%)—the other extreme was formed by Finnish prisoners (only 9.1%). Assault is a specific German cause (43.8%), next Finland with 18.2%—lowest in Poland and Lithuania with 10.3% each. Drug offenses are specifically for Swedish (49.3%) and Finnish (45.5%) prisoners, next Germany with 15.3%, only between 3.1% in Lithuania, 4.3% in Poland, and 8.6% in Latvia.

5. See www.cpt.coe.int/documents/ltu/2001-22-inf-eng.htm and www.cpt.coe.int/documents/ltu/http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/ltu/2001–22-inf-eng.htm2006-09-inf-eng.htm; CPT/inf (2006)10, edited by Council of Europe, Strasbourg 2006—it refers to a visit from February 17–24, 2004; Also see a report on Russia of a visit from December 2–17, 2001 at www.cpt.coe.int/documents/rus/2003-30-inf-eng.pdf. That visit was in Primorskyi and Khabarovsk regions in some SIZOs and also in a labor colony, which seems to be similar to the one I saw in Pskov.

6. This does not include the prediction of theft.

7. See the “war” between bandidos and hells angels in the late 1990s in www.bmi.gv.at/oeffentlsicherheit/2000/04/artikel_11.asp, par. 6 and following on page 1 and Schleswig-Holsteinischer Landtag, Drucksache 15/371, 15. Wahlperiode, page 6.