The breakdown of prisoners by length of sentence, as of 31 January 2019 ¹:

• one to three months: 0% (6)
• three to six months: 0.3% (63)
• six months to one year: 2.6% (480)
• one to three years: 20.6% (3,868)
• three to five years: 25.6% (4,804)
• five to ten years: 27.9% (5,240)
• 10 to 20 years: 17.4% (3,270)
• over 20 years: 4.7% (874)
• life: 0.8% (158)

The prison service, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, consists of a central service and ten main departments:

• social reintegration
• prison security
• prisoner health
• human resources
• project implementation
• prevention of crime in confinement
• communication technology and IT
• administration and finance
• penitentiary inspection
• legal affairs

The Ministry of Justice appoints, by decree, the director general of the prison service and its three deputy directors. The facility supervisors are responsible for implementing the decisions taken by the central service. They are required to indicate the specific needs and objectives of the establishment for which they are responsible. ¹

The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of pre-trial confinement centres.

The different confinement regimes are:

• the open regime: applies to persons sentenced to less than one year. They are allowed to take part in activities outside the facility.¹
• the semi-open regime: applies to persons sentenced to between one and three years. They can move freely in prison during cell opening hours. This regime concerns the largest number of prisoners.²
• the closed regime: applies to persons sentenced to between three and 13 years. They are placed in collective cells.³
• the maximum-security regime: almost always applies to persons sentenced to life imprisonment or a sentence of over 13 years. Prisoners considered to pose a risk to the facility’s security are also included. In theory, prisoners placed under this regime have individual cells. They are allowed to take part in socio-cultural activities in small groups, and to work in their cells.⁴

The prison service also bases assignment decisions on an assessment of each person’s character, their perceived harmfulness and the nature of their offence. Some prisoners are assigned a regime that is inconsistent with the length of their sentence.

Most penitentiary facilities have several confinement regimes in dedicated quarters, ranging from open to maximum security. Persons awaiting trial are usually held in a dedicated ward. Several wings are located outside the main facilities, mainly to accommodate people placed in open or semi-open regimes. Two confinement centres and two educational centres for juveniles provide for different confinement regimes. There are six prison hospitals throughout the country ¹.

The size of facilities varies significantly: from 206 spaces in Miercurea Ciuc prison to 1,509 in Giurgiu prison.

Prisons are located throughout the country. Eleven of the country’s 41 counties have no correctional facilities.

The Târgu Ocna training school for prison officers provides one-year training courses to classes of over 200 students (242 in 2020). Candidates must first apply through a local institution. The candidate must:

• be of Romanian nationality
• live within the national territory
• have a baccalaureate degree
• be between 18 and 35 years of age
• meet the physical and mental requirements
• have a clean criminal record

Two spots are reserved each year for candidates from the Roma community.

People who have been trained at the police academy in Bucharest or at one of the military academies or officers’ schools (Bucharest, Sibiu, Pitesti) may also join the guard corps.

The gross wages of prison officers in January 2020 were between 4,733 and 8,773 lei (1,133 and to 2,101 USD) ¹. Prison guards enjoy a number of benefits. The prison service provides financial support to officers for the construction of their first home. An allowance for rent (up to 50% of salary) and moving expenses may be granted. Medical and paramedical care is offered and can be provided abroad if not available in Romania. There is a 2-year maternity leave, extendable to three years in the case of a disabled child. Vouchers for restaurants and spas can be provided. Some of these benefits are retained after retirement and may also be used by close family members².