Prague, Jan 19 (CTK) – Only two types of prisons, with usual and maximum security, will be in the Czech Republic under the amendment to the criminal code and the law on serving the prison sentence passed by the Senate on Thursday.
The legislation will abolish the existing four types of prisons.
The Justice Ministry is of the view that the summary amendment to the two pieces of legislation is to enhance the work with prisoners and to reduce repeat crime.
It is yet to be signed by President Milos Zeman.
The legislation also regulates the sending of perpetrators to one of the three new types of prison departments, differing by the degree of security.
The decision is to be made by the prison governor and if a prisoner appeals it, a criminal court, not the general director of the Prison Service is to deal with it.
The prison educators, special teachers, psychologists and social workers are to join the decision on the type of the prison department.
The courts are to keep their right to send the convicts to one of the two types of correctional facilities.
Under the amendment, the maximum security prisons are to be for the convicts with the life sentence, members of organised criminal groups, the perpetrators with at least eight-year prison terms for very serious crimes and the convicts with a deliberate criminal act who escaped from a prison facility.
The Prison Service will not be able to allow leaves from a prison or discontinuation of a prison term for them.
The courts are to send the rest of the convicts to the prisons with normal security measures.
