(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Alimat Aliyeva
The number of citizens serving sentences in French prisons
continues to rise, and in the near future, there may be no more
space to hold dangerous criminals, Azernews
reports.
"In France, there are 82,000 prisoners for 60,000 beds, which
represents an overcrowding of 30%. If we do nothing, in a few
months we will not be able to imprison criminals who have raped and
killed," said the head of the department.
To address this issue, Minister Gérald Darmanin proposed
building prisons with more lenient conditions for criminals
sentenced to shorter terms.
"It takes seven years to build a regular prison. These require
watchtowers, barbed wire, trenches, and strict regulations. But not
everyone should be kept under such conditions. It would be easier
to build new institutions with less stringent requirements," the
minister explained.
He also addressed the issue of drug trafficking, particularly
tightening control over the leaders who continue to run criminal
gangs directly from prison.
"Today, 17,000 prisoners in our prisons are involved in the
distribution of illegal substances. The French people do not
understand why some of them continue to direct drug trafficking
operations from their cells, send money, and even order murders,"
Darmanin lamented.
According to him, he plans to "clean French prisons of mobile
phones" and identify and isolate the leaders of criminal
organizations.
In addition to prison reform, these statements reflect growing
concerns about the effectiveness of France's criminal justice
system, particularly in controlling organized crime and preventing
inmates from maintaining influence over illegal activities. The
issue of prison overcrowding has reached critical levels, making it
a key topic in France's national security and justice discussions.
Some experts argue that alternative methods, such as
rehabilitation-focused facilities or electronic monitoring, could
help alleviate the strain on the prison system. However, these
measures would require significant investment and policy shifts,
which remain subjects of intense debate.
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