The average monthly cost of maintaining one prisoner in Ukraine is UAH 14,165, which is twice the national minimum wage.
The increase in costs for the maintenance of prisoners in Ukraine is an important signal about the financial condition of the penitentiary system and its burden on the state budget. These expenses, which significantly exceed the minimum wage, raise a number of questions about the efficiency of the use of public funds and the provision of prison conditions. Financial indicators related to the maintenance of convicts reflect not only the provision of their basic needs, but also a large volume of costs for the maintenance of personnel serving the criminal justice system. Such a situation emphasizes the need for deeper analysis, since a significant part of the state budget is spent on the functioning of this system, which has a direct impact on ensuring the rights and conditions of detention of prisoners.
The average monthly cost of maintaining one prisoner in Ukraine is UAH 14,165, which is twice the figure for the minimum wage in the country. About this reported lawyer, honored lawyer of Ukraine Volodymyr Bogatyr.
“The amount of the minimum monthly salary, which is determined every year in the state budget of Ukraine, also increased, but it was always less than the costs of maintaining prisoners.” – says the lawyer.
According to him, since 2016, the costs of maintaining prisoners have increased 3.3 times – from UAH 4,258 per month to the current UAH 14,165 in 2023. Although the minimum wage also increased during these years, it always remained below the cost per inmate. This can become a reason for criticism of the system, because at first glance it seems illogical that the maintenance of a prisoner costs more than the minimum wage of citizens.
The main reason for such a gap is that the costs of maintaining prisoners include not only providing for their needs, but also financing the maintenance of the personnel of the criminal executive service. This means that a significant part of the funds goes to wages, social security and other expenses related to the work of penitentiary system employees.
Volodymyr Bogatyr emphasized that the lion’s share of the budget allocated to this area is aimed specifically at consumption expenditures, including salaries and other current expenses. In the state budget for 2024 under the program “Execution of sentences by institutions and bodies of the State Criminal Enforcement Service of Ukraine”, the general and special funds together amount to 8.7 billion hryvnias, of which 99.5% are precisely such expenses.
Interestingly, compared to 2023, labor costs under the budget program increased by 1.18 billion hryvnias, or by 24%, while the minimum wage in Ukraine increased by only 6% (from UAH 6,700 to UAH 7,100). Such a gap in growth rates raises questions about the balance and fairness of budget funding, as well as about the effectiveness of public funds management.
In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that, despite the high costs of maintaining prisoners, the penitentiary system in Ukraine remains an object of criticism due to the conditions of detention of convicts, the insufficient number of rehabilitation programs and the low level of socialization of those who are released. This indicates the need to reform the system not only at the financial, but also at the structural level, in order to achieve a more efficient use of resources and ensure the appropriate level of preparation of convicts for their return to society.
Thus, the current state of expenses for the maintenance of prisoners in Ukraine is an indicator that the system needs a comprehensive review. High costs of maintenance, a significant part of which is aimed at service personnel, raise questions about the effectiveness of the criminal enforcement service and about the possibilities of improving this system with the aim of more rational use of budget funds and ensuring decent conditions for convicts.
