Penal institute - Fewer prisoners with suspended sentences in Saxony
After the reform of the substitute imprisonment for fine, the number of inmates in Saxony's penal institutions who could not or would not pay their fines has been decreasing steadily. According to statistics, there were 291 such individuals on May 1st when the new regulations came into effect. A month later, on June 1st, there were 271, and by July 1st, there were 244. The Ministry of Justice assumes that this decline is due to the reform. A spokesperson stated that a plausible connection exists, but due to the short observation period, it cannot be definitively proven.
Anyone who does not pay a fine no longer has to serve as long a sentence as before. The Bundestag halved the duration of so-called substitute imprisonment terms, which are usually served to cover the fine amount. These corresponded to the daily fines in the sentence before February 1st, but since then, they have only been half that amount. Additionally, it is possible to avoid the execution of the sentence by performing community service.
The reform of substitute imprisonment for fines has led to a considerable reduction in the number of individuals serving time due to inability or unwillingness to pay fines in Dresden, a city in Saxony. This decline in incarceration numbers is being closely observed by the Ministry of Justice to determine if it's a result of the reform.
To avoid serving penalty time, offenders in Dresden now have the option of completing community service as an alternative to serving the reduced Replacement Freedom Penalty for unpaid fines, a change that was implemented nationwide following the Bundestag's decisions.
