File this one under 'Quirky stories from the world news page'. Alongside those yarns about oddly-matched animals that have adopted each other, botched surgery stories from China, those crazy festivals in Spain (I think we're up to tomato festival time), apparitions of the Virgin Mary on cheese toast in a US trailer park, and ridiculous E-bay offerings in the UK. Have I missed any?
- Joel Alas, TALLINN
It used to be said that Estonians would queue for anything, especially during Soviet times of deficit when a line could lead to stockpile of coveted supplies.
Now almost 900 people are stuck in a queue for a most unlikely commodity - a prison cell. Not only are they willing to wait for their incarceration, they’re also angered by anyone who skips the queue.
Estonia is currently experiencing a shortage in detention cells, brought about by a change in the justice system that allows people to serve out short sentences for minor offences rather than pay a fine.
Tallinn and its surrounding Harju county are experiencing the greatest strain on prison resources, with 520 convicted ‘detainees’ awaiting their place in jail.
Parnu county is also under pressure, with some 350 people on the waiting list. A handful of others are waiting out their turn in various counties across the country.
The jail queues were revealed last week after a pair of Dutch motorists were caught speeding through Parnu county at nearly 140 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.
The two speedsters, who were taking part in The Challenge 2006 rally from Amsterdam to St Petersburg, were sentenced to ten days imprisonment each.
However, local media were outraged that the Dutch drivers were allowed to begin serving their sentences immediately – ahead of the 350 local offenders waiting in line. Even when going to jail, Estonians still want to be first in the queue.
The justice system makes a distinction between ‘jail’ and ‘detention houses’. Jail is reserved for serious offences, while detention houses are used for those committing administrative and traffic offences for up to thirty days.
But in some counties, the ‘jail’ and ‘detention house’ are the same place, and the difference between ‘prisoners’ and ‘detainees’ is merely a bureaucratic name-change.
The conditions for ‘detainees’ can sometimes be more onerous – they are not allowed to receive packages or visitors, while some ‘prisoners’ enjoy these perks.
Tartu University senior lecturer in criminology, Jaan Ginter, said the detention cell shortage was not a major problem. In some cases, it could even assist in deterring recidivist behavior, he said.
“In an ideal world, there should be enough cells available all the time. But the problem is not urgent, because the queue is not so long,” Ginter said.“To have to wait to serve their sentence may actually help some people, because it gives them longer to think about their offence and their punishment. They are forced to consider it for a longer period than if they could serve their sentence immediately." - The Baltic Times
