Prison Population in Turkey Rises by 220 Percent in 10 Years

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Council of Europe has published a report entitled "Prisons in Europe 2005-2015", which represents data on prison populations across Europe.

According to the section on Turkey in the report, prison population in the country increased from 54,296 to 173,522, which accounts for a 220 percent rise. Incarceration rate in Turkey also increased by 191 percent in this time.

Turkey also has the sixth largest incarcerated population among the 47 members of the council. First five countries are Albania, Georgia, Lithuania, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Length of imprisonment rises

From 2005 to 2014, the average length of imprisonment based on the number of days spent in penal institutions increased by 343 percent. In 2005, the average length of imprisonment was 6.7 months while in 2014, it was 29.9 months.

During the same period, the average length of imprisonment calculated on the basis of the ratio between the stock and the flow increased by 80 percent. In 2005, the average length of imprisonment was 5.5 months while in 2014, it was 9.8 months.

Turkey, after Romania and Portugal, has the third longest length of imprisonment.

According to the data represented in the report, the rate of deaths of inmates in penal institutions per 10,000 inmates increased by 162 percent.

Sexual offences increase, homicide decreases

Average age of inmates rose by 6 percent, inmates from other countries decreased by 5 percent.

From 2013 to 2015, the most increased crimes were rape and other sexual offences. Inmates who are imprisoned for these crimes increased 23 times in two years. In 2013, 523 people were imprisoned for rape, in 2015, the number rose to 12,253.

According to the report, Turkey is short of both capacity and ratio of inmates per staff. For every staff member, there are 3.7 inmates in Turkey, which is a ratio only exceeded by Macedonia. (EÖ/AS/VK)