Number of juveniles in Austrian prisons
Reference date: 30 November; from 2000: 1 September
* It is necessary to take into account statutory amendments to age limits when analysing the number of juvenile prisoners over time. Prior to 1989, 14 to under-18 year olds were regarded as juveniles, from 1990 to 30 June 2001 under -19s were too. As of 1 July 2001 the age limit was reduced to 18 again.
**Before 1989 and from 1.7.2001: 14 to under-18s, from 1990 to 30 June 2001: 14 to under-19s
Some of the values for individual years are missing prior to 2008. The figures lay between the last year reported and the next.
Source: Statistical overview of imprisonment; IVV data from the Austrian Federal Computing Centre (BRZ) taken from the Ministry of Justice Security Reports 2011-2006
Total number of juveniles and people imprisoned per 100,000 of the resident population
Reference date: 30 November; from 2000: 1 September
*Before 1989 and from 1.7.2001: 14 to under-18s, from 1990 to 30 June 2001: 14 to under-19 year olds.
Some of the values for individual years are missing prior to 2008.
Sources: own calculation; figures taken from the Ministry of Justice Security Reports 2011-2006.
Imprisoned juveniles: Statistical overview of imprisonment; IVV data from the Austrian Federal Computing Centre (BRZ);
Imprisoned people: Police crime statistics (published by the Federal Ministry of the Interior), judicial crime statistics (published by Statistics Austria), Statistics Austria Yearbook, www.statistik.at, Statistical overview of imprisonment; (published by the Federal Ministry of Justice); Security Reports; From 2001: IVV (Integrated Administration of the Penitentiary System, supplied by the Austrian Federal Computing Centre);
For population figures: Statistics Austria, Annual average population
Juveniles* in prisons 2016
Reference date: 1 September
*14 to under-18 year olds Source: Statistical overview of imprisonment; IVV data from the Austrian Federal Computing Centre (BRZ) taken from the Ministry of Justice, Security Reports 2011-2006
Development and structure
The number of juveniles in Austrian prisons initially declined sharply up to 1988, but rose steeply at the end of the 1980s. The pre-1990 rise can no longer be explained by extension of the age limit (to under 19). A sharp rise in juvenile prisoners in the years following 2001 “compensated” for the decline caused by the new reduction of the age limit (to 18) in 2001. After reaching a high of 259 juveniles in prison in 2004, the number of people aged under 18 in prison in the reporting year 2016 was 149, of whom just 10 were female. This was therefore an increase compared to the previous year (136). Out of all prisoners in 2016, the proportion of juveniles was around 1.7% on the reference date. This development is one of the effects of the interdisciplinary round table – “Juvenile remand – prevention, reduction, enforcement” – appointed in summer 2013.
Up to 2003/2004, out of all imprisoned juveniles, the proportion of aliens rose to more than two thirds and as of the reference date in 2016 was 70.5%.
The breakdown of imprisoned juveniles as of the reference date of 1 September 2016 can be seen from the above graphic; the 10 female juveniles were in Vienna-Josefstadt prison (4), Innsbruck prison (2), Linz (2), Schwarzau (1) and Leoben (1).
