Prisons are closed communities where idleness is the greatest threat, he said. When a prisoner has no tasks or goals they channel themselves negatively, he added. Csóti said the primary goal of the penal system is to help successful re-adaptation.

Study and work are the main tools. It is important that prisoners should develop a “working culture” and learn to manage their money, which is one-third of past years’ minimum wage, he said. The combined employment and study rate of prisoners has increased from 60% in 2010 to nearly 90%, and sooner or later all prisoners will study or work, he added.

The number of prison staff will be increased by 30% in the next two years, Tamás Tóth, Hungary’s newly appointed national prison chief, said. Tóth, formerly the deputy chief, said the training network would need to be strengthened, coupled with higher financing.

New prison facilities are planned to be built in Békés, Csenger, Heves, Kemecse, Komádi, Komló, Kunmadaras and Ózd, he said in an interview with MTI. Offices have been opened in these locations to receive applications for new staff, and several thousand have been received already.

Thanks to the unprecedented expansion plans approved by the government, capacities will increase by 6,000 and the sector is expected to undergo major development, he said. Tóth added that prisoners will get training in areas where there is a shortage in the labour market in order to help them find jobs once they leave prison.

The fields of training will also be adjusted to regional demands and the prisoners will get a chance to get practical training in local companies, he said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Kovács Tamás