Some 600 convicts served mandatory work sentence in 2017
MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Around 600 people served a sentence imposed in the form of mandatory work in 2017, Gennady Korniyenko, director of the Federal Penitentiary Service, said.
"A new type of criminal punishment - mandatory work - has been in place since January 1, 2017. By now eight correctional centers have been created, as have 15 isolated sites at penitentiaries functioning correctional centers, with a maximum capacity of 1,900 people. During 2017 around 600 convicts served sentences at the correctional centers," Korniyenko said at a meeting with United Russia party deputies in State Duma on Tuesday.
The number of such convicts is rising, he said. "Non-incarceration sentences are now used more broadly. According to statistics, prison terms account for at least 30% of judgments issued by Russian Federation courts, the rest are punishments not involving social isolation," Korniyenko said.
Mandatory work, a new type of criminal punishment without isolating a convict from society, was introduced in Russia on January 1, 2017.
The target for the first year was set at maximum 6,000 people and may increase to 30,000 over time.
Under Article 53.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, mandatory work is applied as a non-incarceration alternative for misdemeanors or first-time serious offence. Convicts evading court-ordered work will have their sentence replaced by an equivalent time in prison.