The report draws attention to the problems a great many Council of Europe member states have as regards imprisonment, starting from the tendency of overcrowding – too many prisoners detained in limited prison capacities, to substandard prison conditions which can seriously compromise human rights and, finally, excessive budgetary allocations for the needs of the maintenance of prison facilities. According to available data, Serbia is one of five countries, CoE members, with the highest prison overpopulation.
The report presents the practice in CoE member states in the sphere of introduction and implementation of alternatives to imprisonment which can, in accordance with the principles of general prevention and special prevention, help resolve said problems and better achieve the purpose of punishment. The proposed Resolution invites the member states to promote the implementation of alternative sanctions, especially in the case of certain groups of offenders.
The PACE Committee will forward the Resolution proposal to the Parliamentary Assembly for adoption. “After which I will strive to present the report to the relevant working bodies at the National Assembly. I believe it would be extremely useful if the National Assembly organised a public hearing on the topic”, stressed Natasa Vuckovic after the Committee meeting.