Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – The prisons in Saxony-Anhalt are moderately busy. As of the end of October, the occupancy rate of the 1,927 prison places was just under 82 percent, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice. At the same time in the two previous years it was a good 83 percent, in 2019 it was still around 89 percent. “It can be seen that the occupancy rate of the detention places in the penal institutions in the state of Saxony-Anhalt regularly ranges between around 82 and around 89 percent,” it said. During the pandemic, capacity utilization was temporarily lower.
As of October 31, 2022, 16 convicts were also being held in Saxony-Anhalt for preventive detention. They don’t count as convicts. These are people who have committed the most serious crimes and have served their sentences. However, they are still considered so dangerous that society is protected from them.