2016-12-01
Public Auditors: Modernization of Prisons is Too Slow
The Penal System Programme was designed for creation and development of a cost-effective and efficient prison system, for the implementation of which the Ministry of Justice and the Prison Department used 67.1 million euros in 2015. 1.4 million euros of those were the Norwegian financial assistance and co-financing funds. Having analysed the programme implementation, the public auditors discovered that the main obstacle for creating this system is protracted modernization and insufficiently focused approach to investment planning.
The evidence collected during the audit revealed that Lithuania does not have a clear and coherent prison modernization strategy. Although the modernization process has been going on for more than ten years, any essential results are yet to be achieved. So far, the Programme for Modernising Prisons approved by the Government in 2004, has been amended three times and every time objects (as well as funds and time required for their modernization) were changed before the programme could be fully implemented.
The Ministry of Justice and the Prison Department do not pay enough attention to the programme implementation, for example, there is no programme implementation plan, project implementation scope or intermediate programme implementation results to be achieved. In addition, the currently implemented modernization programme does not reflect the true scope of modernization and the need for funds. Greater funding was allocated for the actual modernization of the objects covered by the programme, and the scope of construction and reconstruction of certain objects does not comply with that provided in the programme. As a result, it is unclear how much this process will cost the State and when the results will be achieved.
The audit showed that with the Government continuing to extend the terms, non-compliance of imprisonment conditions with the requirements of the European Union will also continue. The audit also revealed that modernization becomes more expensive by the year, thus increasing the financial burden of the State. With the process pending, numbers of persons petitioning the courts for more suitable imprisonment conditions and amounts paid to them are growing rapidly. In 2015, the number of persons to whom benefits were paid increased to 935, i.e. more than sixfold compared to 2013. During the same period, the amount paid increased more than nineteen times. Last year it was approximately 1 million euros. According to the assessment carried out by the auditors, the identified problems and shortcomings must be addressed; otherwise, the financial burden that falls upon the State is only likely to grow.
The National Audit Office presented recommendations to the Ministry of Justice and the Prison Department for the elimination of identified shortcomings. The recommendations should be implemented by the end of 2017.