The Minister of Justice visiting the Bordeaux-Gradignan penitentiary center on April 19, 2021. – Thibaud moritz
The rise continues. Figures released Friday evening by the Ministry of Justice indicate that 65,126 people were detained in France on April 1, 2021, or 721 more than the previous month. Knowing that there are a total of 60,775 operational places in the country’s 188 prisons, prison density stood at 107%, against 106% in March and 103.4% at the start of the year. This same density is greater than or equal to 120% in 79 establishments.
Prison overcrowding particularly affects remand centers, where prisoners awaiting trial and those sentenced to short sentences are held, with a density of 125.4% (against 123.8% on March 1). For example, it reached 189.7% in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) and Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées).
More than 800 prisoners on the ground
As of April 1, 830 detainees were forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor. They were 849 on March 1, 740 in February, 688 in January. Their number had dropped to 422 last July. Among the detainees, 18,514 are imprisoned and awaiting trial, ie nearly a third of the prison population.
A total of 79,788 people were placed in jail on April 1, including 14,622 who were not detained and were placed under electronic surveillance or placed outside. The proportion of women (4% of the total imprisoned population) is stable, as is that of minors (around 1%).
A strong effect of confinement
The prison population had experienced a significant and unprecedented decline during the spring 2020 confinement, due to a reduction in delinquency and early release measures taken by the government to prevent a spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in detention.
The number of detainees fell from 72,575 on March 16, 2020 – a record – to 59,463 two months later. But the prison population has been over 62,000 prisoners since October.