The average prison occupancy rate in Croatia is 121%. The highest rate has been recorded in Split, notably 220%, followed by Varazdin (207%), Zadar and Bjelovar (about 150% each). The number of prisoners in the country rose from 3,022 in 2004 to 3,721 in 2005.
In order to relieve the prison system, Skare Ozbolt proposed that offenders sentenced to prison terms of up to three or six months should in the future be given suspended sentences including protective supervision or community work, and that prison sentences should be imposed only for the gravest of crimes.
Skare Ozbolt said that her ministry was considering the possibility of prison sentences for failure to pay fines being converted into community work.
She announced her readiness to accept offers from the authorities in Imotski and Sibenik, southern Croatia, to expand the prison facilities there.
Compared to other transition countries, Croatia ranks in the better half of the scale in terms of rate of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, and follows European trends of prisoner growth rates, the minister said.
Most prisoners in Croatia were convicted of property-related crimes, followed by crimes against life and limb, and drug abuse.
In terms of duration of imprisonment, most prisoners are serving sentences from one to three years, then from five to ten years, and from three to five years; 29 prisoners are serving long prison sentences from 20 to 40 years, while 149 are serving sentences of up to six months.
There are 205 foreign nationals doing time in Croatian prisons.