MAP. Up to 242% occupancy: Nîmes, Perpignan, Mende… discover how overloaded the region's prisons are

Quelle est la densité carcérale dans les prisons de la région ? Midi Libre

Les chiffres de la population carcérale actualisés au 1er avril sont tombés ce mardi 30 avril et atteignent un niveau sans précédent. Découvrez combien sont les détenus dans les prisons de la région, par rapport à leur capacité d’accueil.

There have never been so many detainees. As of April 1, 2024, there are 77,450 people in French prisons, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice this Tuesday, April 30. In total, 3,307 detainees sleep on mattresses.

Up to 242% occupancy

Another significant figure is that among these incarcerated people, 20,438 are defendants, awaiting trial. Based on the figures communicated by the ministry, we have established a map bringing together all the penitentiary establishments in the Occitanie region.

By clicking on each point (red for prisons which have an occupancy rate greater than 100%), you will discover the number of operational places in each establishment, the number of prisoners and the occupancy rate.  

In the region, five remand centers even have an occupancy rate higher than 200%: that of Seysses (201%), Perpignan (206.1%), Foix (207.7%), Nîmes (224%) and Carcassonne (242.2%).

The different types of establishment

Note that a remand center is different from a detention center. In the first, accused persons in pre-trial detention are welcomed as well as convicted persons whose sentence or remaining sentence does not exceed two years. These are the penitentiary establishments which are most of the time overcrowded.

Detention centers are prison facilities which house prisoners sentenced to a sentence of more than 2 years. Finally, the central houses (one in Occitanie, the Lannemezan prison), accommodate prisoners serving long sentences. "The detention regime is essentially focused on security", specifies the ministry.