St Gallen reopens old prisons as Swiss jails reach capacity

St Gallen is reopening two former prisons to create 26 additional places as Switzerland’s detention system operates near its capacity, SRF reported. The facilities in Bazenheid and Uznach will reopen in September for security and remand detention.

Never before have so many people been held in Swiss prisons as at the beginning of 2026. Nationwide occupancy stood at 97 percent, according to the federal government. In St Gallen, it exceeded 100 percent, forcing authorities to place second beds in cells.

The two reopened facilities will bring the canton’s occupancy rate back to just below 100 percent. An occupancy rate of 85 percent would be ideal, according to the report.

Bazenheid prison was closed in 2022 following a Federal Supreme Court ruling because it had too few visiting rooms and insufficient opportunities for work and exercise. The requirements for security and remand detention are less restrictive, allowing it to reopen temporarily.

The St Gallen cantonal parliament has approved an additional credit of about 870,000 Swiss francs, enough to operate both facilities until the end of the year. Funding for next year will be negotiated as part of the cantonal budget.

The facilities in Bazenheid and Uznach are intended as temporary solutions until the expansion of the regional prison in Altstätten is completed. The construction project took four years longer than planned, and the expanded prison is now due to open at the beginning of 2028.

“Small prisons like these are not economical,” security director Christof Hartmann told SRF. But the canton was able to bring the two police prisons back into operation relatively quickly, he said, making them the most efficient option.

The police prisons hold people in security or remand detention. At one point, 80 people were being held in 57 cells, according to the report.

The reopening is also intended to ease pressure on staff. Remo Breitenmoser, head of the St Gallen police prisons, said staff had been working at their limit. Distributing meals, providing medical care and taking detainees outside had all become more demanding, while overcrowding had led to more disputes.

Before reopening, the prisons’ security systems had to be checked. In Uznach, they had to be replaced. Some electrical and sanitary installations were also repaired or replaced, and new equipment such as dishes and mattresses was purchased.

Other cantons have responded to the shortage of space with temporary container prisons. Lucerne and Basel-Landschaft have taken this approach, while Bern’s cantonal parliament approved a temporary container prison in March to relieve pressure on its full regional prisons.