Newly opened Tallinn Prison to start work in December

The new Tallinn Prison, a brand new structure erected in Soodevahe village in the territory of the Rae rural municipality outside the capital city, was opened on Wednesday and will start operating in December.

Minister of Justice Urmas Reinsalu said that the new Tallinn Prison will ensure the safety of the society. "With the establishment of the new Tallinn Prison, a significant step has been taken in the development of the prison service, where all Estonian prisons are modern and secure. On new, bigger and secure premises, prison staff will also have a better opportunity to direct inmates toward law-abiding behavior," Reinsalu said in a press release.

The new prison has capacity for 1,208 inmates. It is made up of 512 chambers for men and 92 chambers for women. The prison complex also includes an open prison with a capacity for 100 inmates. A mother-child department, which is meant for female inmates and their up to 3-year-old children, will also be transferred to the new Tallinn Prison from Tartu Prison.

There are three prisons in Estonia, including the Tartu Prison opened in 2002, the Viru Prison opened in 2008 and the Tallinn Prison to start operating in December 2018. After the relocation, current prison buildings located on Magasini Street and the open prison located in Maardu will be closed.

As of Nov. 19, there are 2,613 inmates in prisons in Estonia.

The state real estate management company RKAS and Fund Ehitus OU signed the construction contract concerning the new Tallinn Prison in November 2015. The value of the contract is 73.9 million euros exclusive of VAT.