Summary of audit results

The Ministry of Justice has not addressed the issue of improving and adapting the management of the prison infrastructure to meet the changing needs, although the number of inmates has consistently decreased and, according to criminal policy trends, will continue to decrease. According to the calculations by the National Audit Office, the costs will more than double per one inmate in the next decade if the number of inmates continues to decrease at the rate predicted by the Ministry of Justice, unless the management of the prison infrastructure is improved. 

Although the state has placed an expectation on the State Real Estate Ltd. to advise the areas of government on optimal management of real estate, the role of State Real Estate Ltd. has remained modest in improving the management of the prison infrastructure.

The use of large prison complexes could limit the opportunities of inmates to effectively rehabilitate in prison. The existing prisons are dependent on the guard staff, and even now the inability to fill guard shifts is hampering the provision of activities to inmates.

The inmate employment models used in prisons are adapted to large prisons and long imprisonment and no longer meet the needs of today’s labour market, which nowadays requires more diverse skills from an employee.

Main observations

Managing the prison infrastructure will become more and more expensive per inmate in the coming years. In twenty years, Estonian prison system has changed from ten to three prisons that meet today’s imprisonment conditions, but if the number of inmates continues to decease, these will be occupied by one-third in a decade. 

The ministry has set the goal of placing inmates in single cells but has not analysed its effect on the costs of imprisonment. According to the calculations by the National Audit Office, if the decreasing trend in the number of inmates continues and three prisons continue to be managed, the costs will increase from the current 2,800 euros to 6,600 euros per inmate per month by 2032. 

The existing infrastructure, which includes both buildings that are already 20 years old as well as 5-year-old buildings, is managed in the same way (repairs and investments are planned), but due to the different cost level and the rate of decrease in the number of inmates, this may soon no longer be optimal. The ministry does not have the competence to assess the efficiency of using the infrastructure, and State Real Estate Ltd. has not been given the necessary input to assess it either.

The Ministry of Justice should start assessing the provision of rehabilitative activities offered in prisons and its outcome based on data. The ministry only has a current overview of the activities offered to inmates in prisons but lacks knowledge of the need and effectiveness of the provision of activities, including no appropriate data have been collected to carry out more diverse and comprehensive analyses. 

Creating a comprehensive overview of the activities offered to inmates and participation in them is therefore complicated, the impact of vacant positions on rehabilitation has not been analysed, and it has not been determined how many and which staff is required to improve rehabilitation in prisons. Development projects enabling data-based assessment are still in their early stages.

Main recommendations

Recommendations of the National Audit Office to the Minister of Justice:

• Draw up a long-term plan for the management of the prison infrastructure, taking into account the decrease in the number of inmates and the shortening of the sentence as well as the most optimal use of rehabilitative activities and staff necessary for the operation of prisons as possible.
• If the number of inmates continues to decrease, consider closing one prison complex or under-occupied units. 
• Organise the database related to the detention of persons to be able to assess the provision and effectiveness of rehabilitative activities in prisons.