Start of works at Unguriu Penitentiary

Today, execution works began at the future Penitentiary in Unguriu, Buzau county. The new unit will have 900 detention places calculated at the standard of 4 sqm for every person deprived of liberty.

The detention area will have 12 internal and one external detention pavilions: for detainees classified in the semi-open regime there will be 10 pavilions, each of which will have its own walking yard to which the detainees will have permanent access. The distinct pavilion intended for social reintegration spaces will include the following spaces:

• 4 clubs for social reintegration activities, for working with large groups;
• 3 classrooms;
• A library;
• A computer room;
• 3 spaces for hobby activities;
• A multifunctional club;
• A space for interfaith activities;
• A radio-tv studio;
• A space for sports activities;
• Other technical spaces.

For detainees classified in the open detention regime, there will be 2 pavilions. The social reintegration activities will take place in the following spaces:

• An educational office;
• A psychological office;
• A social assistance office;
• Two clubs for group activities;
• A library;
• Two spaces for hobby activities (for small groups: 3-5 inmates).

An absolutely new component will be represented by the "assumed freedom" pavilion (placed outside the penitentiary) with a capacity of 16 places for prisoners from the open regime, who are in the preparation period for release.

Other relevant facilities for both the staff and the persons in custody are:

• Medical center for primary medicine for the medical assistance of prisoners, on three major functional areas: ambulatory, hospitalization, pharmacy with office;
• The church - the commune of the two regimes;
• Administrative building for staff (eg: offices, meeting rooms, common administrative spaces, archives and sports halls with related changing rooms);
• Sports hall and multi-sport field, intended for prisoners from both regimes;
• The "Visit" pavilion, including spaces for visits with the guard, mother and child spaces, parent-child visiting space, spaces for conjugal visits.

On the occasion of the start of the works, the Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, visited the site and declared:

"After 24 years, today we start the construction of a new unit of the penitentiary system. The last moment of this kind was the one in 2000, when the works began at the Buzias Educational Center. Currently, the modernization of the entire infrastructure of the National Penitentiary Administration is an important objective for the Ministry of Justice. Especially in the context in which we are making efforts to combat the phenomenon of fugitives, because there are still cases where some of them, caught on the territory of other states, invoke situations from the past in order to slow down the handover to Romania. We are constantly improving the accommodation conditions in penitentiaries, modernizing the existing spaces, and between 2021 and 2023 more than 2,000 new places were created in penitentiaries, of which 1,282 in the last year. With such investments, Romania will solve all the problems in this field. Thank you to the ANP team for bringing this project to maturity and I wish everyone involved a lot of work to successfully complete this important goal."

The Unguriu project is part of those included in the framework loan agreement between Romania and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe regarding the contracting of a loan to support the project on the modernization of the judicial infrastructure in Romania signed in 2019 and approved by Law no. 90/2020.