Construction of the new prison complex in Liepāja is planned to begin by the end of 2017. Liepāja Prison is the most significant infrastructure project of the past decade in the field of ensuring a safer society and the resocialization of inmates.
“Liepāja Prison is one of the most important socially significant construction projects of the past decade. It marks the implementation of a responsible social policy in Latvia, caring in the long term for a safer society. It will be a detention facility that meets modern requirements, ensuring maximum safety for staff, society and the inmates themselves. It is important not only to punish, but also to ensure that these people return to society successfully and safely for everyone. The state will also benefit financially in the long term, since three outdated prisons will be closed, on the maintenance and security of which we spend enormous resources every year,” explains Tieslietu ministrijas valsts sekretārs Raivis Kronbergs.
At today’s press conference, the client for the Liepāja detention-facility project – the Ministry of Justice – thanked colleagues from the State Real Estate Agency of Estonia for their work in supervising the development of the Liepāja Prison project, and transferred the implementation and supervision of its construction process to the oversight of Tiesu namu aģentūra (TNA).
Santa Sausiņa, TNA board member: “TNA has carried out all the necessary preparatory work to take over implementation of the project and to begin organizing the Liepāja Prison construction process. We plan to announce the construction project procurement soon. This facility will be the largest and, to date, most significant real estate project implemented by TNA. As part of it, we will cooperate both with our Estonian colleagues, who have implemented similar detention-facility projects, and with the Prison Administration, as well as with state and non-governmental organizations connected with maintaining Latvia’s detention-facility system and implementing resocialization in the long term.”
Liepāja Prison is designed for 1200 inmates. The whole complex comprises 8 different buildings. The total area of the territory is 305 116 m², the total built-up area – 64 053.7 m², and the total floor area – 51 407.4 m². The complex will be located 5.6 km from the centre of Liepāja. The prison complex will include residential units for inmates, a large employment centre with work opportunities for inmates, an education centre with premises for spiritual and sports activities, a multifunctional building for admitting inmates, a medical unit, enhanced-regime detention rooms, a meeting and staff canteen, and other auxiliary premises.
During the press conference, the significance of implementing resocialization projects in Latvia was also emphasized by Ilona Spure, Head of the Prison Administration, who added that “Latvia has a relatively high proportion of inmates who, after being released, commit further crimes, causing harm to society. Complaints are regularly received from inmates in Latvian prisons about unacceptable living conditions, demanding monetary compensation from the state. This points to the need both to implement detention-facility renovation projects and to invest more resources in resocialization, promoting a rise in inmates’ level of education and their more successful integration into society and the labour market. It is therefore important to add that particular attention has been paid in Liepāja Prison to opportunities for the resocialization and employment of inmates.”
The designer of the new prison complex is SIA Rem Pro, which worked closely with the State Real Estate Agency of Estonia during the design process, drawing on its experience in building new prisons. Since restoring its independence, Estonia is now building its third new detention facility.
Liepāja Prison is the first detention facility that Latvia will build since the restoration of independence. The prison complex will be located in Liepāja, at Alsungas iela 29. The project provides for the accommodation of 1200 inmates, implementing a new-level resocialization programme for the education and integration of inmates into society. It is expected that more than 400 staff will work at the new prison complex.