Country

Latvia

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Sentence enforcement code (Sodu izpildes kodekss)Sentenced juveniles are held separately from sentenced adults. Sentenced male juveniles shall serve their prison sentence in juvenile correctional facilities. Sentenced female juveniles shall serve their prison sentence in separate wards in women’s prison equipped for the needs of juveniles.
Sentence Execution Code of Latvia (Latvijas Sodu izpildes kodekss)In order to strengthen the results of resocialisation and to enable young adults to acquire general education or vocational training, convicted juveniles who have reached the age of 18 may, by decision of the evaluation committee, stay in the juvenile institution until the end of the school year or until the end of their sentence, but not longer than until they have reached the age of 25. In exceptional cases, a convicted detainee who has reached the age of 25 may, by decision of the evaluation committee, remain in the juvenile institution until the end of the school year. If the conduct of a juvenile detainee precludes the possibility of remaining in the juvenile facility or benefiting from early release, the convicted juvenile shall be transferred to the less-strict regime of a semi-closed prison. Convicted juvenile detainees, they are entitled to video-communication once a month for up to 30 minutes; 12 regular visits per year, ranging from one and a half to two hours; 15 long-term visits by close relatives per year, ranging from thirty-six to forty-eight hours; and the right to make purchases in the facility shop without any limitation on the amount of money. The educational process for convicted juveniles shall be equated, as far as it is possible, to the education process in the general education institutions.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2022[...] there are still high risks of youth violence. The resocialisation plans mostly specify the same measures, aims and objectives with respect to all [children]. Similarly, the goals of free-time activities are generic or the same in relation to all children. This could be an indicator of a superficial assessment of the children. With respect to the medical care, it was concluded at the facility it was being provided at an optimal level. On a positive note, every detained juvenile was being examined by a child psychiatrist, however, this should be complemented by a psychodiagnosis conducted by a psychologist. Shortcomings were identified with regard to the availability of a dentist and dental hygienist. Report details