What is an Austrian "five-star" prison like?

A five-star prison in Styria, Austria. If you compare the crime records of Austria and the United States numerically, you will notice something strange: although in every crime category (murder, rape, robbery, violent assault, etc.), the crime rate of the United States is higher than that of Austria. High, but for the crime of theft, Austria’s data is significantly higher than that of the United States. Why is the crime rate of thieves in Austria 40% higher than that in the United States? Five-star prison A prison known as a five-star "criminal paradise" is located in the ancient Austrian city of Leoben. If it weren't for the barbed wire fence surrounding it, looking from a distance, one would have thought it was a university library. The exterior design of this prison is very modern, and the interior decoration is even more luxurious. The prison cells are distributed on two sides, with suspects awaiting trial on one side and sentenced criminals on the other side. The more than 200 prisoners living in the prison are all happier than the beggars on the streets, not to mention the single cells with independent bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows. Each room has a small balcony (although it is surrounded by iron railings) , from there you can first see the courtyard downstairs; it is luxurious enough to say that every 15 rooms form a suite, and enjoy the facilities of a public activity area and a small kitchen. The prisoners can cook their own meals, and most of the utensils on the dining table are made of metal. It's incredible. This is basically a shared apartment! In addition to an apartment-like living environment, the prison also has a fitness center, a prayer room, and a tea room. It also provides an open reception space so that prisoners can meet with visitors alone. If an inmate's spouse comes to visit, the prison also provides rooms similar to hotel suites. It is said that the theft crime rate in Austria is 40% higher than that in the United States. Perhaps this five-star prison is the real "culprit." The small town of Leoben is one of the oldest cities in Austria. In recent years, it has become famous for having the most luxurious prisons in the world. Leoben Prison is on a hillside outside this small city. During the day, sunlight penetrates the glass walls and windows, illuminating the rooms and corridors. At night, the entire building emits colorful lights from the inside out. No matter who sees this building, they will have a good impression of it. From the outside, the entire building looks very casual. If it weren't surrounded by barbed wire, it would look like a university library. However, you may not know that this is a prison. It is a bit inaccurate to say that it is a prison. Its name is "Leoben Judicial Center". In addition to the prison, there are also institutions such as the Supreme Court, the District Court, and the Law School. However, because the prison part is decorated as luxuriously as the office building, the Leoben Justice Center has been controversial since its official opening in March 2005. Many people also directly call it "Leoben Prison". There are more than 200 prisoners in Leoben Prison. The prison cells are distributed on two sides, with suspects awaiting trial on one side and sentenced criminals on the other. Each of these people lives in a single cell with a separate bathroom, and each cell has floor-to-ceiling windows. Although surrounded by iron railings, each room has a small balcony, from which you can also see the yard downstairs. Each 15 rooms form a suite and enjoy a communal activity area and a small kitchen where they can cook their own meals. Most of the utensils on the table are made of metal, which makes people feel weird. This is basically a shared apartment. The prison uses an open system that keeps prisoners incarcerated as much as possible without cutting off contact with the outside world. In addition to an apartment-like living environment, there is also a fitness center, prayer room, pantry, and an open reception space so that prisoners can meet with visitors alone. If an inmate's spouse comes to visit, they can also enjoy a hotel suite-like room. Prisoners wore their own clothes instead of uniforms. At first glance, there is no difference from ordinary people. The general impression given by prisons is that they are chaotic and noisy, with the sound of iron doors opening and closing one after another, and prisoners locked in cubicles shouting from time to time. But you can see bright glass everywhere here, just like enjoying a quiet weekend afternoon leisure. It is said that the theft crime rate in Austria is 40% higher than that in the United States. Some people joked that maybe the five-star prison was the real "culprit." Berlin is also going to build a similar prison. In Europe, the Leoben Justice Center has become one of the models of prisons. Although not everyone can accept it, it definitely attracted people's attention, at least not easy to ignore. The internet has been buzzing with discussion about the prison. Berlin has decided to build a similar prison in the suburbs. "The more you allow them to live a normal life here, the easier it will be for them to reintegrate into society when they leave in the future," said designer Hohensien. The Austrian Republic is located between Western Europe and Eastern European countries that have recently joined the European Union. between. Austria currently has 730,000 immigrants, accounting for 9.1% of the total population. In the past 30 years, turmoil and war in the Balkans have led to an increasing number of immigrants in Austria. This has made the originally peaceful Austrian social security situation worse than before. The vast majority of theft gangs come from neighboring Romania. According to Austria's 1975 code, prison sentences with a maximum term of six months are generally replaced by fines, such as for theft, but these immigrants cannot afford the fines. There are also many Eastern Europeans who simply come here just for the Austrian prisons.

When Austrian prisoners participate in labor during their sentence, in addition to being paid according to the hours worked, their wages are also increased regularly. The government also pays unemployment insurance for prisoners during their sentence. This provision is a rare innovation in law around the world. Moreover, the "hardware" of Austrian Prison is also quite luxurious.