Currently, there are nine prisons in Latvia – closed, semi-closed and open type, with a total of 3,200 prisoners. In the coming years, it is planned to reorganize this system and evaluate which prisons to keep and which to close. This year, in October, the foundation stone was laid for the new Liepāja prison, which will accommodate 1,200 prisoners, but another new facility in the Latgale region would be needed.
Wages will increase
The budget of the Prisons Administration (IeVP) is planned to be 75.8 million euros next year, including 60.7 million euros allocated for employee compensation. Compared to this year, the funding has increased by 8.9 million euros, the largest part of this amount will be directed to salary increases and the payment of service benefits (officials in this field are entitled to this after every five years of continuous service), Saeima Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Commission Dmitrijs Kalins, head of the Department of Prisons, explained at the meeting.
He pointed out that 2,435 employees work in IeVP – 28 positions less than before – and this is due to the elimination of long-term vacancies, redistributing them within the department (22 in the probation service, six in other institutions). True, about 20% of vacancies still remain. The average salary in this department, depending on the position, is 1338 to 1593 euros. An 8% wage increase was achieved next year. Currently, work is being done on raising the new salary limit, as the ceiling has already been reached with the current one.
New initiatives
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