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Austria Penal System
All prisons from local jails to maximum security institutions
are regulated by the Ministry for Interior. Revisions to penal
statutes adopted in 1967 emphasize rehabilitation, education,
work, prison wages, and assistance to prisoners on their return
to society. Programs stress the humane treatment and
rehabilitation of inmates, but program implementation is often
inhibited by restricted prison budgets and lack of facilities.
Regulations stipulate that all able-bodied prisoners will be
put to useful work. If proceeds from an individual's work exceed
the cost to the state of his maintenance, the prisoner is paid a
wage. Part can be used for pocket money, and the remainder is
paid to the offender after release. Where facilities are
inadequate or the situation justifies work or education beyond
what is available on the prison grounds, those not considered
dangerous or likely to attempt to escape can work or attend
classes in the nearby area.
The penal system in Austria includes seven penitentiaries
(Garsten, Graz, Hertenberg, Schwarzau, Stein, Suben, and ViennaSimmering ); three institutions of justice; two special
institutions; and eighteen jails at the seats of courts of first
instance. In spite of the rising crime rate, the prison
population fell steadily from 7,795 in 1987 to 5,975 at the end
of 1989. The average prison population of 6,318 in 1988 was
composed of 6,054 males and 264 females. The rate of
incarceration was seventy-seven per 100,000 population, typical
for Europe as a whole but higher than some Scandinavian
countries. Those on supervised probation numbered 4,930--2,762
adults and 2,168 juveniles.
The number held in investigative detention also declined,
from 1,666 in 1987 to 1,466 in late 1989. This reduction was
attributed to implementation in 1988 of the law easing the
requirements for conditional release. According to Austrian
authorities, the number of detainees had been reduced to a level
corresponding to the European average.
* * *
Much of the information in the foregoing chapter on the
Austrian Army's strength and equipment is based on The
Military Balance, 1993-1994. Under the heading "JDW Country
Survey: Austria" in Jane's Defence Weekly, several
articles describe the New Army Structure plan of the defense
establishment, with charts showing the proposed organizational
pattern. The concepts underlying Austria's defense policies prior
to the New Army Structure are set forth in "Defense Policy from
the Austrian Point of View" by Emil Spannocchi. Detail on the
army's structure, weaponry, and strategic plans as of 1986 is
included in Friedrich Wiener's Die Armeen der neutralen und
blockfreien Staaten Europas.
The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
produced by the United States Department of State summarizes the
operation of the criminal justice system and the internal
security agencies. Das grosse Buch der Polizei und Gendarmerie
in Österreich by Friedrich Jäger gives an account of the
functioning of the various police organizations from the Middle
Ages to the present day. (For further information and complete
Data as of December 1993
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