Instead of prison, Mikulić seeks for 771 people to work for the common good

More than 770 people in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are awaiting to serve prison sentences, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP), confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Due to the insufficient number of prison cells in Bosnia and Herzegovina, many convicts have not yet served their prison sentences, even though they have been imposed. According to data from the Federal Ministry of Justice as of December 31, 2013, as many as 771 people in the Federation were awaiting to serve prison sentences, with the majority having sentences of up to one year in prison.

The Federal Ministry of Justice warns that this number could be significantly reduced if Bosnian courts began to apply alternative sanctions, such as, they say, work for the common good.

- The number of convicted persons 'on hold' has decreased since the application of house arrest with electronic monitoring began, as a method of executing prison sentences for convicted persons with sentences of up to one year - explained the FBiH Ministry of Justice for the Patria agency. However, they believe that this number could be much lower if courts also imposed alternative sanctions, such as work for the common good, which is practiced in many developed countries around the world.

- For several years, we have been trying to encourage the competent courts to apply alternative sanctions more in practice, such as work for the common good. However, the application of these sanctions in practice in the FBiH is very low, and if it were applied, it would contribute to reducing the number of convicted persons 'on hold'. These sanctions have a high percentage of participation in sentences imposed on perpetrators of criminal offenses in almost all European countries, explain this ministry, writes NAP.