Some offenders will be ordered to do community service instead of being sent to prison under proposals being examined by the government aimed at reducing overcrowding in Greece’s jails.

During a visit to Diavata Prison in Thessaloniki, Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Minister Haris Kastanidis said that he is examining ways of making conditions better for inmates at all of the country’s prisons.

“Changing the penal system will take some time,” he said. “However, there are things that we can do fairly quickly in order to make conditions in jails more humane.

“Alternative sentencing could help reduce overcrowding in jails,” said the minister, who spoke with inmates as well as guards in Diavata.

The governor of Diavata Prison, Costas Kouvrakis, said that 610 people are currently being held there, almost half of whom are foreign nationals, and that, although the cells have been designed to hold up to four prisoners, some house as many as 10.

Deputy Justice Minister Apostolos Katsifaras visited the Aghios Stefanos Jail in Patras and promised that the government would look at ways to ensure that there is an effort to rehabilitate prisoners while they are serving their time.

He identified problems such as giving inmates something productive or creative to do in their spare time. “Our great challenge is to create a prison system that matches the needs of today.”

“We cannot compromise over conditions that are an insult to our country and expose us in the eyes of international organizations and all active citizens,” added Katsifaras, who said that the government plans to allow charities and social workers to have access to prisons.

Meanwhile, Kastanidis said that all of Greece’s inmates would be designated as a high-risk group so that they are among the first to receive the vaccine against the H1N1 flu virus.