Twenty Percent

Between 2024 and 2025, Luxembourg's incarceration rate rose by roughly 20%, one of the steepest increases in Europe. The number of detainees across all three prisons, including men, women, and minors, went from 737 to 851 in a single year.

Serge Legil, Director of the Prison Administration, presented these figures based on Council of Europe data. He attributed the spike partly to the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, which had temporarily suppressed numbers. The upward trend is continent-wide, he said, but Luxembourg's figures are especially pronounced.

When asked whether the increase reflects more crime, Legil was careful. Prisons are a reflection of society, he said, and society is complex. Wars, migratory flows, and economic changes all play a role. The profile of detainees is shifting. There are more elderly inmates. There are new forms of crime, including cybercrime and drug-related offences. And law enforcement capacity has improved, which means more people getting caught.

One statistic stands out. Seventy-eight percent of Luxembourg's prison population are foreign nationals, the highest share in Europe among countries with more than 500'000 inhabitants. Legil traced this to Luxembourg's geography at the heart of Europe, with major transit routes passing through. Many detainees have no real connection to the country. They are drug couriers or others caught in transit. The largest groups are Portuguese and French nationals, with a notable increase from Maghreb countries. Legil cautioned against drawing simplistic links between nationality and crime.

The rising numbers are putting pressure on infrastructure and staff. A prison reform introduced in 2018 aimed to make life inside resemble life outside as much as possible, giving detainees opportunities to use their time meaningfully for social reintegration. That approach requires space. Legil warned that overcrowding could force the use of double cells, which would undermine the reform's principles for longer-term prisoners.

Violence inside is also rising. A recent incident involved a guard being attacked and seriously injured with a porcelain plate. Legil was unequivocal: it is absolutely unacceptable for any staff member to suffer physical or psychological harm just for doing their job. But he argued that simply hiring more guards would not solve the problem. The changing inmate profiles and cultural diversity require additional training, particularly in intercultural understanding and resilience.

Staffing is a long-term challenge. A significant number of employees are on long-term sick leave or approaching retirement, which complicates recruitment. The system is coping for now, Legil said, and can take in more inmates if needed. But the margin is shrinking.

Twenty percent in one year is not a gradual drift. It is a jolt. Whether it is a pandemic rebound, a shift in crime patterns, better enforcement, or Luxembourg's geography making it a transit catchment zone, the result is the same: more people behind bars in a system that was not built for this many.

The 2018 reform was designed around dignity and reintegration. That is harder to maintain when the cells are filling up and the staff are stretched thin. The principles have not changed. The question is whether there is still enough room to practise them.