Number of people in Turkish prisons up by 15.7 percent in 2017

ANKARA

The number of people in Turkish prisons increased by 15.7 percent in 2017 up to over 232,000 compared to 2016, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Dec. 5.

With a rate of 188 per 100,000 people jailed in Turkey in 2013, the figure rose to 251 in 2016 and 288 in 2017, continuously increasing every year, TÜİK said.

Out of the total prison population, as of Dec. 31, 2017, some 65.9 percent was at the status of convict and 34.1 percent was at the status of arrested, the data showed. Some 95.7 percent of the prison population was male and 4.3 percent was female.

In the case of convicts jailed for committing more than one crime, one of the crimes that resulted in major punishment was taken as the main crime committed. In this context, some 17.3 percent of convicts jailed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2017 committed theft, 12.3 percent of them committed assault, 7.7 percent of them breached the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Law, 7.2 percent of them produced and sold drugs, and 3.7 percent of them committed murder.

The data also analyzed the convicts based on their level of education. In 2017, 47.3 percent of convicts who committed theft had received primary and secondary school education, 17.7 percent of them were only primary school graduates, 12.3 percent of them were high school graduates and vocational school graduates, which is equivalent to high school level.

The 37.1 percent of convicts who committed assault had received education at primary level, 22.1 percent of them were graduated from high school and vocational school and 19.8 percent of them were graduates from primary school.

The 30 percent of convicts who breached the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Law were graduated from high school and vocational school at high school level, 25.6 percent of them were graduated from primary education, and 19.2 percent of them were graduated from primary school.

The 29.6 percent of convicts who committed murder were graduated from primary education, 28 percent of them completed high school or vocational school, and 19.2 percent of them were graduated from primary school.

The 39.1 percent of convicts that committed sex abuse crimes had received education only at primary school level, 20.5 percent of them high school and vocational school and 18.8 percent of them were graduated from primary school.