Latvia, Real Estate

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 21:46

Tsarist-era prison in Riga to be closed

BC, Riga, 08.11.2018.Print version
Brasa Prison, which was built in Riga during the Tsarist era, will be closed in order to save budget money and improve public security, Ilona Spure, head of the Latvian Prison Administration, said at a news conference Thursday.

Spure indicated that for a long time the Prison Administration has been functioning in the conditions of limited funding and that many correctional facilities had obsolete infrastructure that could no longer be upgraded in line with modern standards.


Commenting on the decision to close Brasa Prison, Spure said that the construction of the compound in Brasa, which was meant to be a jailhouse from the very beginning, started back in 1905. However, as prison standards changed in the course of time, several of the building’s premises became unsuitable for housing inmates, for example, due to the lack of windows.


Furthermore, since Brasa Prison is situated in a very limited territory it has no security perimeter and the prison’s proximity to residential and other buildings means additional security risks, Spure explained.


Commenting on the future of the prison’s staff, Spure said that all employees working at the prison would be offered other jobs either in Riga or Riga Region.


Justice Ministry State Secretary Raivis Kronbergs informed that a decision on the old prison building would be made in the nearest future.


The plan is to close Brasa Prison on April 1, 2019, saving EUR 3.5 a year in the government budget.


The inmates currently jailed in Brasa Prison will be transferred to other correctional facilities.






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