In Montenegrin prisons during 2025, 1.520 illegal items and objects were confiscated, five deaths were registered, two of which were suicides, 12 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 14 employees of the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS), and the system ended the year with 1.372 prisoners and only 480 employees, although 661 jobs were systematized.
This is stated in the Report on the work and situation in the areas under the jurisdiction of UIKS for 2025.
The document states that the number of enforcement officers "is not sufficient to carry out the tasks of UIKS within the jurisdiction of enforcement of criminal sanctions", as well as the obligations from negotiating Chapter 23, the Strategy for Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions and the recommendations of international bodies.
"During the year, the number of employees varied, the employment relationship of 44 employees was terminated, and at the end of the reporting year the number of employees was 480," the Report states. At the beginning of the year, UIKS had 479 employees, and at the end, one more, while the number of systematized jobs remained at 661.
The report also states that during 2025, "12 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 14 UIKS officers for breach of official duty, as follows: three proceedings for minor breach of official duty and nine proceedings for serious breach of official duty."
PRISONS ARE FULL, STILL WITHOUT STAFF
The document also notes that the system has failed to provide new prison officers through the Police Academy. As stated, a competition was announced for the enrollment of 26 participants in the Prison Officer Education Program for the 2025/2026 school year, but there were no candidates enrolled.
"For the above-mentioned competitions, 235 candidates applied... However, since out of the total number of candidates, 90 met the general and special admission requirements and were accepted for the Police Officer Educational Program, there were no candidates for enrollment in the Prison Officer Educational Program," the report states.
The Report states that in 2025, 12 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 14 UIKS employees for breach of official duty, including three proceedings for minor breach of official duty and nine proceedings for serious breach of official duty.
At the same time, the number of persons deprived of their liberty increased. According to the report, at the beginning of 2025, there were 1.191 detained and convicted persons in UIKS, and at the end of the year there were 1.372. Of this number, 651 were convicted and 721 were detained.
“Overcrowding continued to be a problem in the Podgorica Remand Prison, due to the continuous increase in the number of detainees,” the document states. In an attempt to relieve the burden on the system, UIKS reportedly expanded the accommodation capacity in the Podgorica Short Sentence Prison and Bijelo Polje Prison by 40 places each, for a total of 80 places for detainees.
According to the Report, UIKS officers, through the regular procedure of searching prisoners and premises, conducted a total of 1.366 searches, while 74.477 searches of persons entering UIKS on various grounds were conducted at the prison system's registration desks.
"During the searches, a total of 1.520 items and objects whose possession and use are not permitted in prison were found and seized," the report states.
The table accompanying that part of the document lists the following as the most frequently found and confiscated illegal items: 1.241 tablets, 87 mobile phone chargers, 75 mobile phones, 23 improvised daggers and 16 SIM cards.
MEANS OF COERCION AND HUNGER STRIKES
The report also records disciplinary proceedings against detainees and convicts - "due to non-compliance with the rules of conduct, 700 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against prisoners, as follows: 314 against detainees and 386 against convicts," the document states.
It is added that 590 disciplinary measures were imposed, of which 268 were imposed on detainees and 322 on convicted persons. It is stated that means of coercion were used in 11 cases against 11 prisoners.
"Means of coercion were used mainly to provide active or passive resistance, fail to comply with verbal or other orders, prevent attacks on police officers, and violent behavior," the report states.
The document also records 90 individual hunger strikes, as well as 283 collective hunger strikes by prisoners. The report states that the reasons for the collective strikes were “dissatisfaction with the conditions of detention - the length of detention and the conditions of residence”.
The Report states that 47 persons were referred and admitted by the competent courts with final court decisions and prison sentences, with security measures for mandatory treatment of alcohol addicts - 15 of them and 32 addicts of psychoactive substances.
In the section related to healthcare, the Report states that there were five deaths in 2025 - two of which were suicides. There were also 322 patient injuries, 72 self-harms and 4.288 days of hospital treatment.
1.372 prisoners were in UIKS at the end of 2025
As the document states, 19.500 general examinations and 2.894 psychiatric examinations were performed at UIKS during the year, 2.103 examinations outside UIKS and 509 diagnostic procedures outside the system.
The Report states that the number of detained and convicted persons who were on substitution therapy in 2025 was 213, of which 201 persons were on buprenorphine therapy, while 12 persons were on methadone therapy," the report states.
The document also notes that the voluntary testing program for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV continued in 2025, and that 100 people were tested, while "the presence of hepatitis was confirmed in 46 prisoners."
"During the year, the number of employees varied, the employment relationship of 44 employees was terminated, and at the end of the reporting year the number of employees was 480," the Report states. At the beginning of the year, UIKS had 479 employees, and at the end, one more, while the number of systematized jobs remained at 661.
UIKS also claims in the Report that it has continued activities on the resocialization and reintegration of prisoners, through psychosocial programs, literacy, sports and cultural activities, as well as preparation for release.
"The activities carried out confirm UIKS's commitment to developing the treatment of prisoners as a comprehensive process that combines work, education, support and preparation for more successful reintegration into society," the report's summary states.
However, the same problem runs through the entire document - a shortage of people in a system that is under increasing strain. That is why, in the final part, in the proposal for measures to improve the situation, UIKS lists “strengthening the security segment”, “infrastructural improvement”, “staff improvement”, “improving the treatment and reintegration of prisoners” and “strengthening the health care system for prisoners” among its priorities.
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