The Federal Penitentiary Service reported a serious business demand for the work of convicts

Currently, more than 26,000 convicts in forced labor are actively working in 1,700 different organizations, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said in response to a request from Vedomosti. In addition, several thousand convicts who are serving their sentences in settlement colonies are also employed in commercial enterprises. As noted in the message of the Federal Penitentiary Service, in 2022 this figure was about 9,300 people.

The practice of involving convicts in forced labor continues to expand, it is considered “an effective tool to mitigate the shortage of labor resources,” the department explained.

“There are no problems with the employment of convicts in forced labor,” the FSIN report emphasizes. – “The demand for the work of this category of convicts among employers remains high.”

According to representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service, convicts working in forced labor represent “a stable and disciplined workforce under constant supervision and control by the institutions of the penitentiary system.” In accordance with their specialties, these convicts can be involved in construction, food production, agriculture, light industry, services and other areas.

In March 2023, the Federal Penitentiary Service reported that by the beginning of 2023, 367 departments of correctional centers had been created with the ability to accommodate more than 40,000 convicts to perform an alternative punishment in the form of forced labor. According to the Ministry of Justice, about half of them were integrated into the structure of enterprises. The plans for 2024 are to increase the number of places for forced labor to 80,000.