Lower Austria's prisons at the limit: alarming overcrowding!

Lower Austria's prisons at the limit: alarming overcrowding!

Korneuburg, Österreich - The situation in the Lower Austrian prisons is alarming. Current reports show that some priority such as Korneuburg, St. Pölten and Wiener Neustadt operate on their load limit. The overfilling means that there are bed beds made of simple beds to accommodate the high number of occupants. According to Wilhelm Terler, a representative of the judicial assistant, this overcrowding has serious consequences: "We cannot open workshops, nor can we employ the occupants". This in turn could lead to an increase in problems within the institutions, because the occupants have to deal with the staff more intensively without employment, reported .

In addition to the high occupancy rate, the personnel situation in the priority is sharply criticized. According to the union representatives, there are no more than 100 legal guardians in Lower Austria, which increases the susceptibility to errors in the service. The Court of Auditors has also found serious defects in the selection process of the JustIWache. The required minimum average for applicants in the areas of spelling and general knowledge was reduced from 50 to 40 percent. A result of 33 percent is sufficient in arithmetic, while 50 percent were previously required. This reduction in the requirements is considered problematic, since it endangers the quality and suitability of the staff, such as Kurier.at

The current conditions in prisons and the falling standards when choosing new legal guardians raise serious questions about the future challenges for prison in Austria. In view of the increasing number of prisoners and the inadequate resources, it remains to be seen which measures the responsible ministries will take to improve the situation.