Minister pledges staff boost as Innsbruck prison holds 15% too many inmates

Justice Minister Anna Sporer has promised to fill vacant positions at Innsbruck prison as quickly as possible, ORF reported Monday. The prison is also holding about 530 inmates, around 15 percent above its intended capacity.

The prison is designed for a maximum of 461 male and female inmates. At the same time, nearly 20 of the 160 planned prison officer positions are vacant.

Sporer said the prison service also needed more specialist staff, including social workers and therapists. Training courses for prison officers are currently running in eastern and central Austria, with a dedicated course planned in Kufstein next year for applicants from Vorarlberg, Salzburg and Tyrol.

The minister also wants to reduce inmate numbers by using alternative sentences for less serious offences. She said community service should be used more often instead of short prison terms, because short stays leave little time for rehabilitation. Keeping people outside prison could help integrate them into employment, she said.