Leoben (Austria): The glass and steel design of Leoben Prison shows how this penitentiary takes a different approach to crime.
“We don’t simply want to lock away inmates,” said Friedrich Wolfslehner, the 46-year-old deputy prison director. “The concept is: as much outside security as possible, as much openness inside as possible,” he adds.
Opened in 2005, Leoben has come to be seen as a model for other prisons in Austria. While the site is protected by a 6-metre wall, barbed wire and cameras, inmates are given keys with which they can lock their rooms from the inside.
Inmates are allowed to exercise regularly, by using the prison’s table tennis tables, weight rooms and outside sports fields. There is a library, a multimedia room and a prayer room. Those who serve time here cook their own meals and do their own laundry.